Mitsubishi Motors Makes First Fleet Delivery of the 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) to Bay Area's City CarShare

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives from Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., (MMNA), along with San Rafael Mitsubishi, conducted the very first fleet delivery of the all-new 100% electric-powered 2012 Mitsubishi i to the California Bay Area's City CarShare in a special ceremony held at the Green Vehicle Showcase located in front of San Francisco City Hall Plaza on Thursday, December 8 at 9:00 a.m.

City CarShare is a Bay Area nonprofit organization founded in 2001 with the help of several other local nonprofits and the cities of San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. Their mission is to promote innovative mobility options to improve the environment and the quality of life in the Bay Area. By providing short-term access to cars City CarShare is reducing traffic congestion, parking problems and dependence on oil while promoting cleaner air and quieter streets.

"We are very pleased to introduce the all electric Mitsubishi i into our fleet. This vehicle brings us one step closer toward our goal of having 50% of our fleet run on alternative fuel as part of our mission to decrease carbon emissions in the Bay Area," said Rick Hutchinson, CEO, City CarShare.

Numerous fleet orders have already been placed for the innovative, environmentally-friendly and fun-to-drive Mitsubishi i by a wide variety of organizations - multinational corporations, municipalities large and small, major utilities and nonprofit organizations - from New York to Hawaii.

"We thank the Bay Area's City CarShare for being the first fleet recipient of our innovative 100% electric-powered vehicle," said Yoichi Yokozawa, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA). "City CarShare's stated goals are to help promote modes of personal transportation that help improve the environment while reducing noise pollution as well as fossil fuel dependence, so the 2012 Mitsubishi i is the perfect vehicle to help achieve this nonprofit's ambitious mission."

The 2012 Mitsubishi i is the first of several new advanced, alternative-fuel production vehicles that the Japanese auto manufacturer plans on bringing to the North American market in the next few years.

For more information about the 2012 Mitsubishi i, please visit media.mitsubishicars.com and i.mitsubishicars.com; for fleet sales information on Mitsubishi's electric vehicle please log on to mitsubishicars.com/iMiEVfleet.

More information on the Bay Area's City CarShare can be found at citycarshare.org.

About Mitsubishi Motors Corporation       

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., (MMNA) is responsible for all manufacturing, finance, sales, marketing, research and development operations for Mitsubishi Motors in the United States. MMNA sells coupes, convertibles, sedans and sport utility vehicles through a network of approximately 400 dealers. In November of 2011, MMNA launched the battery-powered electric vehicle Mitsubishi i as part of a corporate mission to offer consumers more environmentally responsible modes of transportation. This battery-powered electric vehicle technology addresses the need for vehicles that produce zero tailpipe emissions and support a growing agenda for sustainability. For more information, contact the Mitsubishi Motors News Bureau at (888) 560-6672 or visit media.mitsubishicars.com.

About City CarShare

City CarShare (CCS) is a Bay Area nonprofit that provides convenient, affordable access to shared cars in order to reduce individual car ownership and usage. With a mission to improve the environment and quality of life in our cities, CCS continually strives to make their service so convenient, so reliable, and so affordable that people will prefer using a CCS car to owning their own. In doing so, CCS members are reducing traffic, parking problems, and dependence on oil—while promoting cleaner air, quieter streets, and more open space. For more information, visit www.citycarshare.org or contact Mike Harrigan at 415-970-6206, mharrigan@citycarshare.org.

SOURCE Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.