Here are our posts in this series thus far, which is about electric cars:

• Nissan Leaf
• Chevy Volt
• Chevy Volt (different post!)
• Fit EV
• Mitsubishi i MiEV
• BMW i3
• BMW i8

Imagine yourself on a beach in Tahiti with a cool tropical drink in your hand. You are completely free of stress. You and I are discussing electric cars in a state of perfect relaxation. Eventually the topic turns to the revolutionary Scion iQ EV (known elsewhere in the world as the Toyota iQ EV).

You grab your iPad and see what Wikipedia has to say on the matter:

A prototype of the iQ EV (Scion iQ EV in the US) was exhibited at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The Scion iQ EV is the successor to the FT-EV II as an electric vehicle based on the Toyota iQ chassis.

The US launch of the Scion iQ EV has been announced for 2012, and according to Toyota, for the initial roll-out the iQ EV will not be available to individual consumers, instead the carmaker decided to focus on fleet customers and car sharing programs. The electric minicar has an estimated range of 50 miles (80 km).

You then watch the above embedded video in a state of perfect peace and contentment to learn more about this amazing vehicle.

At this point you realize that, back in the States, you have an iQ EV in your garage that you need to ship to a distant city, despite the fact that it is not available in the US yet at all. Where did I purchase it? you wonder. But now is not the time to ponder such matters as you chug down another Mai Tai. Nor is it an appropriate moment to get stressed about how to ship the car. This is Tahiti!

You place a single call to Nationwide, which then pampers your vehicle with its enclosed shipping service. Your rare EV feels like it’s relaxing on a beach in Tahiti!

And all is well.

–Chip Shipt
The Nationwide Auto Transport Blog Team

In my last post, I talked about the BMW i3, which is a very sweet family EV. In contrast, the i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car with a turbodiesel engine. Looks wicked, right?

The video above provides a very good introduction to the car.

Here is some of what Wikipedia has to say about this fascinating vehicle:

The BMW Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics is a plug-in hybrid concept vehicle that has been developed by BMW. The concept car was unveiled at the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung Frankfurt in September 2009.

In 2010 BMW announced the mass production of the Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics in Leipzig in 2013 as the BMW i8. The i8 is part of BMW’s “Project i” and will marketed as a new brand, BMW i, sold separately from BMW or Mini. The BMW i3 and the BMW i8 will be the first models available from 2013. Other i models will follow.

It is a plug-in hybrid with a three cylinder turbodiesel engine. Additionally, there are two electric motors with 139 horsepower. It allows an acceleration to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 155 miles per hour (249 km/h).

Awesome!

If you have one of these puppies over here in America, that’s pretty amazing, since it’s still a concept car. But, if you do, you’ll want to pamper it when you ship it. Treat it like the amazing piece of machinery that it is. And that’s just what we do here at Nationwide with our enclosed automobile transport service.

For more information, please contact one of our Plug-in Hybrid Shipping Specialists.

–Chip Shipt
The Nationwide Auto Transport Blog Team

You’ve heard about the Nissan Leaf.

You’ve heard about the Chevy Volt.

But have you heard about the Mitsubishi i MiEV? It actually was the first widely available EV. According to Wikipedia,

The Mitsubishi i MiEV (MiEV is an acronym for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle^[3]) is a five-door hatchback electric car produced by Mitsubishi Motors. The i MiEV was launched for fleet customers in Japan in July 2009, and on April 1, 2010, for the wider public. Sales to the public in Hong Kong began in May 2010 and sales to fleet customers in Australia began in August 2010 via leasing.

The i MiEV was launched in Germany in December 2010. Sales in the U.K. began in January 2011 at a price of GB£28,990 (~US$45,100) before the GB£5,000 Plug-in Car Grant. The i MiEV was launched in Costa Rica in February 2011 and in Chile in May 2011. Sales in Canada are scheduled for late 2011 and U.S. sales for January 2012. The American-only version, called “i”, is larger than the Japanese version and has several additional features.

This recent press release (Japanese) from July 6 talks about some new i MiEV stuff: in Japan, they have created two trim levels, M and G. G has a longer range (180 km vs. 120 km), more power (47 kW vs. 30 kW), and some other goodies.

Check out the video, too. It’s from England, where the i MiEV is currently available.

The i MiEV is scheduled for launch in the US in 2012. That same year the Fit EV, Honda plug-in hybrid, and Prius plug-in hybrid will become available in the US. It’s going to be a very interesting year for the automobile industry.

If you should happen to have an i MiEV in the US already, we will be happy to ship it for you to or from any of the states that are not Alaska or Hawaii.

To learn more, please talk to one of our EV Transportation Experts.

–Chip Shipt
The Nationwide Auto Transport Blog Team