PSA Peugeot Citroën Will Make Mini Cars

Peugeot Citroën has entered into a deal with Mitsubishi to make compact electric cars for the European market. The product is scheduled to hit the streets in 2010. The vehicle will be based on Mitsubishi's i-MiEV, a tiny vehicle with an electric range of 100 miles. The i-MiEV is scheduled to hit the streets in Japan later this year. The vehicle will have a small gasoline engine that powers a generator for the vehicle. Peugeot Citroën says it also has a plug-in hybrid EV under development.

Daimler plans to produce an all-electric version of the SmartForTwo and Volkswagen will produce the Audi Up!, an all-electric mini car with a top speed of about 80 miles per hour and a range of about 60 miles. Renault has a small electric vehicle in development for sale in 2011. Toyota has also announced the development of a short-range all-electric vehicle for the 2012 model year.

The development of small electric vehicles is in response to both perceived consumer demand and the technological realities of current battery capabilities. EV batteries perform better in smaller vehicles. It's not surprising that most of the smaller EVs are initially destined for the European market, where consumers are more likely to make short trips and less likely to want larger vehicles. The companies have not yet indicated whether any of these vehicles will be available for sale to the North American market.

Small EVs or city cars may have a passenger capacity of only two or three adults, but are likely to be less expensive than gas-electric or diesel-electric hybrids. Whether electric cars will be cleaner than hybrids remains to be seen, since power-plant emissions must be taken into consideration when determining the carbon footprint of a PHEV. However, all-electric vehicles that have a gasoline generator on board used only for battery recharging will produce lower carbon emissions than gas-electric hybrids.

Photo Credit: Mitsubishi Motor Sales Of America