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New Zealand power company joins Mitsubishi in electric car trial

Business Materials 10 February 2009 06:34 (UTC +04:00)

New Zealand state-owned power generator Meridian Energy on Tuesday announced a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors to conduct trials of a new generation of electric cars, dpa reported.

The first venture of its kind, they are combining to test two prototypes of the Mitsubishi iMiEV, a four-door hatchback with a maximum speed of 130 kilometres an hour and a driving range of up to 160 kilometres, with fuel costs claimed to be one-third the price of petrol.

Meridian chief executive Tim Lusk said that the trials would showcase a new era of clean and environmentally responsible personal transport.

"With the growing awareness of both the economic and environmental cost of burning fossil fuels, the search for viable transport alternatives has taken on a new urgency worldwide," he said.

"Our goal in this evaluation project is to get New Zealanders excited about electric vehicles, so that we are one of the first countries to adopt them once they go into mass production."

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