Mitsubishi to introduce kei EVs for ASEAN, Minicab MiEV to be produced in Indonesia

Southeast Asia is Mitsubishi Motors’ (MMC) most important market, and the Three Diamonds has invested heavily in Indonesia and Thailand which are two of its biggest markets.

Aside from the global debut of the Mitsubishi Xforce, the 2023 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) also played host to the regional preview of the Mitsubishi eK X EV.

The little kei electric vehicle was shown alongside the Minicab MiEV which has been previewed in Indonesia before as well as being trialled by a few Indonesian corporations. While these models are catered for the Japanese market, MMC has plans to introduce them for the ASEAN market, revealed MMC President and CEO, Takao Kato.

“Related to EV, we are now watching the market situation,” the President said at a press conference with Malaysian media at GIIAS 2023. “Yes, it is true that EVs are starting to be accepted by customers (in ASEAN) but if we look at the total sales volume, it is still not very big.”

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“Our current strategy is to utilize the two models (eK X EV and Minicab MiEV) and conduct research on the market to see how well they are received by the respective (ASEAN) markets,” he continued. “The future of EV market is very bright but for me, it is still too early for (MMC) to introduce EV but let’s see what happens.”

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Kato has also revealed to the Malaysian media that the Minicab MiEV will be entering production in Indonesia by the end of this year.

“At least today we have introduced two (EV) models here and one of them, Minicab MiEV, will start production in Indonesia by end of this year,” said the President of MMC.

He added, “That is our current strategy for electrification in ASEAN which also includes hybrids and PHEV (plug-in hybrid) models.”

Also read: Waiting for a Mitsubishi Xforce Hybrid? Here's what MMC President says