Peugeot, Mitsubishi team up to develop electric cars

Philippe Varin, the French carmaker’s chief executive, and Osamu Masuko, Mitsubishi’s chief executive officer, entered into a corporate agreement in Paris today.

The car will be developed based on Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV electric car, and will be sold under the Peugeot and Citroen brands, according to the joint statement issued by the two companies.

Peugeot was one among the few producers to come up with an electric model in the 90s, but it failed to capture the market due to limitations related to driving and performance.

Growing partnership between Peugeot and Mitsubishi
With the new model to be launched next year, the two car makers, who will be competing with Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. in the electric vehicles market, expect to sell 25,000 electric cars each year.

The agreement is a part of the growing partnership between Peugeot and Mitsubishi. The French and the Japanese carmakers are already sharing a platform to develop sport-utility vehicles in Kaluga, Russia from 2011.

Peugeot spokesman Laurent Cicolella was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, “We’re sticking to the strategy Varin outlined in his July 29 speech, when he said we won’t rule out opportunities for external growth to help us reach our goal of becoming a global player.”

More plug-in hybrid cars underway
Several other car manufacturers are also in the race to develop electric cars. Hyundai had Thursday said that it would unveil its hybrid electric car at the Frankfurt auto show beginning Sept. 15. Further, the biggest car manufacturer, Toyota, will also unveil its plug-in hybrid at the show.

Though analysts believe that the new generation of electric cars will have limited success initially because of limitations on use and high price, Peugeot sees this as an opportunity at a time when the auto industry has come under regulatory pressure to cut carbon dioxide emissions and produce efficient vehicles.