Aiming to be No 1 in EV technology

Having seen Toyota take the lead in hybrid vehicles, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) decided on a different strategy for future powertrain systems, instead aiming to establish leadership in electric vehicles (EVs) and then using its knowledge to develop more advanced hybrids known as plug-in hybrids which can be recharged by owners at home. In an exclusive interview with Malaysian journalists in Tokyo last month, MMC President Osamu Masuko provided insights into its plans for the future and the aim of being No. 1 in EV and plug-in hybrid technology.
 

Excerpts from the interview:

 

First of all, I have to say that hybrid systems are a global trend. Not only that but the systems are moving towards the plug-in hybrid type which can offer longer range on a charge and can be installed in larger vehicles like SUVs. Our new plug-in hybrid system will offer different voltages for charging at different speeds. The good thing is that there is the possibility of charging at home using a household electrical outlet. So even though a nationwide charging infrastructure is important, owners can still charge their vehicles in their own home. They can do so overnight so that they have a fully-charged battery for the next day when they leave for work.
 

If 100-volt charging is used for 14 hours, then there should be a range of 160 kms. With a higher voltage used, the charging period can be shorter and with high-speed charging, it only requires 30 minutes. The battery will then be charged to 80% capacity. The system also has the ability to recharge by itself when the car is running using a built-in regeneration system.
 

As for the cost of operating a plug-in hybrid or EV, in Japan, the cost of charging in daytime hours is one-third that of petrol cost. At night, the rate will be one-ninth that of petrol.

 

 

It is not only Japan that offers consumers subsidies to buy hybrid models but also countries in Europe and also the USA. It is obvious that in the more developed countries where environment awareness is high, there are subsidy systems but I am sure before long, this will influence the developing countries too.
 

We have a plan to introduce our technology to the Malaysian government and we are thinking of sending two sample units to your country. This will allow people in the government to experience them and understand the benefits. This initiative will be handled by Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia.

 

 

Let me answer that from a different perspective. When the first hybrid model was introduced 13 years ago, the price was much higher than a conventional car, and also the performance was not as good as it is today. Over the 13 years, the price has been coming down to more reasonable levels and the performance has been improving.
 

The battery being used at the moment is the nickel-metal hydride type but Mitsubishi Motors is progressing towards the lithium-ion type. This type of battery gives much better performance [compared to nickel-metal hydride]. Other automobile manufacturers are also shifting to this type of battery for the future and if this is the case, then we can expect that there will be lowering of costs from mass production of such batteries. In theory, we believe that the price of a lithium-ion battery can be comparable to today’s lead-acid battery – in the future. When that happens, then the price of the hybrid or electric vehicle can also come down significantly and be more attractive to consumers.
 

I should add that while we are focused on the lithium-ion battery for the future, we are also looking at how we can secure supplies of the important rare metals for such a battery. If Malaysia has such metals, we would certainly be interested in mining for it! But from my understanding, unfortunately your country does not so sorry, we can’t do business!

 

There is a general assumption that a time-frame of about 7 years is needed for a new technology to become widely accepted and used globally. You can see how this happened with the cellular phone – it took just 7 years before almost everyone owned one. Now with regard to the question of bringing down battery prices, the Japanese government has set a target for the industry to meet by 2015. By that year, the battery price should be 1/7th of what it is now and the capacity should be greater by 1.5 times. In the longer term, by 2030, the government has set the target that the price must be 1/40^th of what it is now and the capacity 7 times greater. If you calculate it, a battery with 7 times more capacity compared to today’s battery which allows for a range of around 160 kms, it means that the future battery should give a range of 1,120 kms on just one charge – and the battery will also be 40 times cheaper than what it is today.

 

 

Toyota’s strategy was to start with the hybrid and then move on to the plug-in hybrid and I expect they will go to EV. We acknowledged that Mitsubishi Motors was behind Toyota in terms of hybrid vehicles so we decided to skip the hybrid phase and proceed to EVs first. If you imagine a mountain with EV at the top, we headed to the top first and now we are gradually ‘lowering’ ourselves to plug-in hybrids.
 

If you are looking at the size of the companies, then of course Toyota is a lot bigger but in my opinion, when it comes to plug-hybrid technology, we are at the same level - and we believe we have a great chance to compete with Toyota. In EV technology, I think we are already ahead of Toyota. But we’re not looking at just competing with Toyota; all the other automakers are also rivals!
 

We will never be No. 1 in terms of size but I believe that in 5 years time, we can be No. 1 in EV and plug-in hybrid technology.

 

Well, there is no regulation that says EV or hybrid vehicles cannot participate in such rallies. As you know, our 4x4 technology is already very advanced so if we can combine this technology with batteries and electric motors, then we will enter such a vehicle in rallies as well. So we will develop such vehicles with the idea that one day, people like Masuoka-san [the Mitsubishi driver who was 3-time winner of the Dakar Rally] will enter them in such events.



 

 

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