Mitsubishi i-MiEV by LSDSL - CC-BY-SA-4.0 The Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which stands for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle, was first introduced in Japan in 2009, making it one of the first electric cars available to the public. It was later launched in Europe in 2010 and North America in 2012. The i-MiEV was developed based on the “i” minicar, a popular gasoline-powered vehicle in Japan. This budget-friendly EV is powered by a 49 kW (66 horsepower) electric motor and a 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.