OREANDA-NEWS. July 18, 2011. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation's (MMC) Thai subsidiary, Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (MMTh), announced that MMTh has agreed to start joint testing of the i-MiEV new-generation electric vehicle (EV), with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and PEA ENCOM International Co., Ltd. (PEA ENCOM), respectively.
 
MMC has agreed with the government of Thailand on December 2010 to start a joint study for fleet testing of EVs. Based on the new agreements made this time, through two local electric companies, MMC will start specific testing for the popularization of EVs in Thailand, such as researching its' acceptability, marketability, as well as its' charging infrastructure. The power supply structure in Thailand is divided into generating, transmitting, and distributing whereas both MEA and PEA ENCOM are responsible for the distributing process.
 
MMC President Osamu Masuko celebrated the move and said "This joint testing with two of Thailand's power companies is a big step for MMC and MMTh to promote the popularization of EVs in Thailand. With our partners, we would like not only to evaluate the EVs' functionality, but also verify its role in future communities that will employ 'Smart Grid' technology."
 
After its launch in Japan, the i-MiEV has been sequentially rolled out internationally to Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, 19 countries throughout Europe, among others, and also is planned for rollout in the United States and Canada this fall. In addition, MMC is in cooperation with numerous governments in their EV popularization initiatives, including the Principality of Monaco, Iceland, Denmark, Singapore.