Mia-Electric has announced that its French-made microbus will launch in the UK this summer. It appears that the version of that will initially ship to the UK will be a single-seater with an optional second seat. However, Autocar reports that models with three and four seats could follow.
According to the press release we've seen, the UK model will be powered by two lithium-ion phosphate batters "generating 12 kW." However, the Mia website suggests that the batteries of current generation Mias store 12 kWh of charge, so this may be an error in the press release. More importantly, the vehicle is stated to have a range of 74 miles (119 km) and be fully chargeable from flat in 5 hours. Every 10 minutes of charge time is reported to grant an additional 5 miles (8 km) of range.
The car will benefit from the UK government's grant for plug-in electric cars, bringing the price down to £16,995 excluding VAT (which is about US$26,000 at today's exchange rate).
The final launch date isn't clear, though the UK launch roughly coincides with changes to the London congestion charge, from which the Mia and other electric cars, as well as ultra-low emissions vehicles, will be exempt. The Mia is targeted specifically for urban drivers.
The Mia microbuses will be imported by Venture Automotive Holdings trading as Mia-Electric UK. We've reached out to Venture Automotive to try to clarify the model to be released and its battery spec. We'll update this article if and when we hear more.
Sources: Mia-Electric, Autocar
I like the look of it. I like small. :)
http://www.mia-electric.de/modelle/mia-l
Regarding Michaelc's comment on safety standards: Living is not all about safety, but rather a lot about possibilities. The SUV, which is so popular in the US, is not a very balanced solution and should be banned for all non-commercial traffic and inner-city use.
So 10 * 119/8 = 2.5h and that is != 5h as mentioned above.
The last % of charge usually take longer but the math still don't add up in my book.
The concept looks ok, provided that secondary safety could be satisfactorily provided as a low-speed urban runabout (as the brochure proclaims)- preferable to a Renault Twizy for all-year use in our rainy climate.
Some potential issues- it doesn't appear to offer air con- which is far more important in an urban runabout where the vehicle will be stationary in traffic (hot, and very noisy, esp if alongside large diesel vehicle engines, nor does it mention if the windows open). Also, it says that it will charge with a standard European 16 amp socket- most European countries have a socket design so similar that a 'universal' plug does for all, however in the UK we use a different 13 amp plug design- so how much current does the Mia draw when charging?
If these issues are resolved, and it proves to be an easy, fun to drive, and smooth riding car, it would be ideal for use in our larger cities.