This nameplate marked Mitsubishi’s move from EV experimentation into full-scale production. It was introduced in Japan in 2009 as a compact, urban-focused battery-electric vehicle based on the company’s small rear-wheel-drive “i” platform, but re-engineered around an electric drivetrain rather than an internal-combustion engine. Mitsubishi positioned it as a practical everyday EV for city use, with a cabin footprint suited to kei-car expectations and enough range for routine commuting and local travel.
The car’s significance goes beyond its size. Mitsubishi has described it as the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle, and it became an important milestone in the company’s long EV development program. That program stretched back decades, and this model distilled that work into a production vehicle that was sold not just to private customers but also to fleets, municipalities, utilities, and other organizations that wanted a compact zero-emission vehicle for short-distance duty.
Over its life, the model received a series of updates and improvements rather than a full generational change. It helped establish Mitsubishi’s credibility in electrification and later fed technology and know-how into the company’s other electrified products, especially its plug-in hybrid efforts. Production ended in 2021, closing a single continuous run for a vehicle that helped define Mitsubishi’s modern EV identity and remains one of the brand’s most important historically significant nameplates.