As forecast, Mitsubishi has announced a van version of its i Miev electric car. However, instead of just removing the seats and panelling over the windows, the clever people at Mitsubishi have managed to make it bigger, without making it bigger – they’ve increased the height of the load area and squared it off a bit. The result is a van with a load are measuring 62 cubic feet – a little less than half that of a Ford Transit Connect.

For pics and a full launch report, check out this report on Autoblog Green.

As I reported earlier this year, Mitsubishi has already entered into a partnership with PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) for them to build a European version of the i Miev car. The question is, will this deal extend to PSA producing an i Miev van?

It would fit perfectly into the urban/electric market and would give the company a valuable starting point in bringing to market all-electric vans. Given recharging concerns, electric vans often make more sense than electric cars, as vans are typically used on fixed routes, with known mileages each day and a fixed base to recharge at each night.