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Mia Electric will launch three vehicles in the UK in May 2012 and all three will qualify for the Government’s ‘Plug-In Car’ and ‘ Plug-In Van’ Grants .
This follows months of close consultation and cooperation with the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) which has now deemed that mia electric’s vehicles meet all the safety, reliability, performance and warranty standards necessary for the UK market.
Having qualified for both grants, any motorist wishing to buy a mia electric vehicle when they go on sale in the UK market later this year will be entitled to a discount of around £5000. This additional Government support means the mia’s standard short wheelbase model (mia-U) will retail at approximately £21,000 and the two extended models, the mia L and the mia box van, will both retail at approximately £22,000.
Mia electric particularly supports the UK government’s decision to extend the grant to vans , which are especially suited to electric because of their commercial use. Vans tend to travel the same route and distance on a daily basis and have ample opportunity to be recharged at regular stop-offs and bases.
Mia cars have been designed by the former head of design at Volkswagen, Murat Günak, and come in three configurations – the standard short wheelbase model and two extended models, the mia L and the mia box van.
Thanks to its lightweight design concept, the standard model weighs only 765kg (extended models weighs 786kg) giving it e xtremely economical power consumption and low running costs (approx £1.30 per 62 miles).
All three vehicles are powered by an 18kW electric motor at the rear of the car that gives a top speed of 68 mph. A 75 to 80 mile range is available from the 12 kWh battery pack that comes as standard and the lithium iron phosphate batteries can be fully charged in five hours. This battery system is exceptionally safe and helps alleviate range anxiety by allowing “no memory effect” charging. This means the battery can be charged for short top-up periods with absolutely no adverse effect to the life of the battery. (e.g. a ten minute charge will give an extra 5 miles of range).
The standard short wheelbase mia has three seats in total, while the extended mia L has four. Instead of three back seats, as in the mia L, the mia box van features a cargo capacity of 1,500 litres.
All three variants of the mia have a central driving position which allows the driver to get in and out of the car on both sides. This seat arrangement provides the driver with a perfect view of the city traffic and the passengers at the back with plenty of legroom. It also gives the cabin a unique office-style layout that features a display with space to mount a tablet computer and smartphone.
Mia electric was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2010 and currently employs 300 engineers at its production facility in Cerizay, western France. The company was formed having been acquired from car developer, Heuliez.
The company is owned by a Franco-German partnership in which the German parent company, mia electric GmbH, has a majority shareholding of 52.7%. The principal shareholder of mia electric GmbH is Prof. Edwin Kohl, founder and owner of the pharmaceuticals group, kohl group. He is partnered in mia GmbH by the co-founder, co-owner and director of the energy service provider conIenergy.
Prof. Edwin Kohl also has a personal stake of 36% of the company through his direct investment into mia’s production company, mia electric SAS. The French region of Poitou-Charentes holds the remaining 11.3% of the company.
Read more about the Government’s ‘Plug-In Van’ Grant .
Read our Electric Car Guide .
