Mitsubishi Motors delivers electric car to Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii couple on Monday received the first all-electric car delivered by Mitsubishi Motors to a retail customer in the U.S. and Canada.

Bridget Nishimura said her family spends $60 to $75 a week on gas for each of their three cars so they can commute to work and school from their home in Waipahu. She's looking forward to simply charging the car with electricity.

"I'm so excited. I'm very much about the Earth and environment," Nishimura said after she and her husband, Bryson Nishimura, received the keys to their 2012 Mitsubishi i at a ceremony at the state Capitol. "I hope I am a leader today, and that people will follow suit. Because you can't go wrong — the gas prices are not going to go down, certainly. This is definitely the way to go."

A seven-hour charge using a 240-volt outlet costs about $3 at average U.S. electric rates and gives the car enough power to go about 62 miles (100 kilometers).

Gov. Neil Abercrombie said the Nishimuras are electric vehicle pioneers who are setting the pace for the rest of Hawaii.

Abercrombie, like his predecessor Gov. Linda Lingle, has been promoting the use of electric vehicles as part of an effort to reduce the state's oil consumption.

Hawaii offers people who buy electric cars a $4,500 tax credit. Electric vehicle drivers on the islands don't have to pay for parking when they park in a metered spot, and they may drive in carpool lanes on freeways.

Consumers who take advantage of the state credit and a $7,500 federal tax credit should wind up paying $16,000 for the Mitsubishi car, the state says.

Masatoshi Hasegawa, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors North America, said 17,000 of the cars are already on the roads in Japan and in Europe. The company has expectations for strong sales in Hawaii.

"We are waiting for a big bang here because Hawaii is very green oriented," Hasegawa said.

Hasegawa praised the incentives Hawaii has to encourage electric vehicle ownership. He also noted Hawaii has the most advanced electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the U.S.

Mitsubishi is delivering the car to California and other West Coast states next, and the vehicle will be on the East Coast by March.

The cars will be delivered nationwide by June.