Japanese automaker and local municipality established an alliance to help usher in the era of the electric vehicle
Fri, Feb 04, 2011 - NORMAL, Illinois - Taking the first major step toward fulfilling its goal of getting 1,000 electric vehicles on local roads by 2014, the Bloomington-Normal Electric Vehicle Task Force joined with Mitsubishi Motors North America on Friday, February 4 to announce Mitsubishi's commitment to make its electric-powered vehicle Mitsubishi "i" a significant part of the local electric vehicle mix. Mitsubishi Motors North America President Shinichi Kurihara announced that the company has committed to supplying 1,000 of its new, fully electric Mitsubishi "i"s to the Bloomington-Normal community by 2014. Local deployment of the Mitsubishi "i" is slated to begin in late 2011, with at least 300 units of the electric vehicle supplied to the community per year.
Governor Pat Quinn also joined with President Kurihara to announce a Memorandum of Understanding between the State of Illinois and Mitsubishi. The MOU memorializes the commitment of both parties to maintain a strong, mutually supportive relationship as Mitsubishi continues its role as a critical player in the state's manufacturing base.
To further the Task Force goal of educating the public about EVs, Chairman Jeff Pritts, also the General Manager of the Bloomington-Normal Marriott, unveiled the new "EVTown" logo and website. Currently under construction, the website at www.evtown.org will be fully operational in March 2011. According to Mr. Pritts, "The EVTown website will serve as a one-stop shop for people interested in purchasing an EV. In addition to providing information about EVs, the site will have links to participating EV manufacturers offering online ordering." The Task Force is actively reaching out to several EV manufacturers, attempting to facilitate their partnership in the EVTown initiative.
The formation of the Bloomington-Normal EV Task Force, consisting of various community leaders representing the business, education, government and labor sectors, was announced on January 18, 2011, by Chairman Pritts. Task Force goals include analyzing EV charging infrastructure needs, educating the public about EVs, and working with EV manufacturers to deploy at least 1,000 electric vehicles to Bloomington-Normal by the year 2014. To that end, the Town is working with the Task Force and the Eaton Corporation to implement a charging infrastructure throughout Normal in 2011. Eaton's core business is diversified power management, including electric vehicle charging and its impact on the electric grid.
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