Commercial electric car by Mitsubishi Motors, on anvil

TOKYO: Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp, which is preparing to launch one of the world's first commercial electric cars, said on Monday it was also working on plug-in hybrids.

"We are advancing in development of plug-in hybrids," company president Osamu Masuko told a news conference. He said Mitsubishi Motors' know-how in electric cars would be a "tremendous advantage" for Japan's fourth largest automaker as it looks to challenge rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp. in hybrid vehicles.

Mitsubishi Motors' next year plans is to start selling in Japan its i MiEV, which runs entirely on electricity. It will be the world's first commercial electric car along with the Stella of Subaru, a unit of Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries.
Japanese automakers have made strides with hybrid cars, which are powered both by petrol and electricity, at a time of high oil prices and growing concern about emissions, blamed for global warming.

A plug-in hybrid would let motorists drive the car for longer distances by allowing them to plug in for a recharge.
Toyota, Japan's leading automaker, has already announced it will produce a small fleet of plug-in hybrids by 2010, while Nissan Motor Co is mulling entering the field.

Unlike hybrids and plug-in hybrids, purely electric cars are seen as primarily suitable for short-distance driving in cities.

Mitsubishi Motors has had the most troubled finances among Japanese automakers. It suffered four straight annual net losses before returning to the black in the year to March 2007 after recovering from scandals over covering up defects.