Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors has teased images of a new electric vehicle which it will be bringing to the Tokyo Auto Salon in January, the new Kei EV Concept.
Of the two less-than-revealing photos Mitsubishi released, the first is the Kei EV Concept, a “new generation all-electric kei-car” – where “kei-car” is a vehicle category in Japan for microcars.
Mitsubishi tells us that the Kei EV Concept combines the “easy handling and practical size of a kei-car with smooth yet powerful road performance of an EV, while offering advanced driver assistance systems and connectivity.”
Some reports suggest that it will go on sale sometime next year, or early 2023. It’s possible that this Kei EV Concept is the “mini-vehicle” Mitsubishi and Nissan announced they were working on back in August, but Mitsubishi’s press release gives nothing away one way or the other.
Mitsubishi also provided an even-more-less-than-revealing photo of a new Ralliart concept car.
Ralliart is Mitsubishi’s high-performance and motorsports division, and the photo shows only a diffuser integrated into the rear bumper of an unknown style of vehicle: car, truck, SUV, no one knows.
Mitsubishi currently boasts a relatively thin product line and very little room for serious performance variants, so this new Ralliart concept could be a whole new concept vehicle or a vaguely modified existing Mitsubishi.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.