Price falls on electric car

Mitsubishi has dropped the price again on its i-MiEV electric car.

The launch price will now be £23,990, including the government's subsidy of £5,000. The price of the i-MiEV original started out at £38,669 though that was without the £5,000 grant.

This price drop comes in conjunction with the government confirming that 'ultra-low carbon' cars will qualify for a grant of up to 25% of the purchase price (to a £5,000 maximum) for January 2011. The scheme, which covers electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen cars, is valid until 31 March 2012 and open to both private and business buyers.

The electric car has other benefits - it is exempt from road tax and the London congestion charge, gets free parking in certain areas, has low running costs and a zero benefit-in-kind company car tax rating.

An electric car can costs up to £10,000 more than an equivalent petrol one - but owners could save hundreds a year in costs such as tax and servicing. The oncoming increase in VAT, however, from 17.5% to 20%, could add over £700 to the already high purchase price of an electric vehicle, negating some of those savings.

Currently the i-MiEV, Tesla Roadster, Nissan Leaf and C1 Ev'ie are available for order with the government grant, though currently the G-Wiz does not qualify. The Nissan Leaf, a competitor to the i-Miev, costs £23,350 (after the grant) and has a similar 100 mile range.

The electric car market is set to expand next year with Peugeot releasing the i0n electric city car and Smart releasing the electric-drive fortwo. Renault will start selling an electric version of their Kangoo van, and later a four door saloon called the Fluence.

Chevrolet also plan to market the Volt saloon in Spring, 2012, whilst Vauxhall have begun promoting their plug-in hybrid electric Ampera saloon, which is due for release during 2012.