Six dealers have been selected as i-MiEV specialists, located in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch, each selling it at £31,850 ($59,990) with three years’ free servicing and installation of a 15 amp socket for home charging.

‘This is a proud day for our company,’ said head of sales and marketing strategy Daniel Cook. ‘It is not often you have the opportunity to make a significant impact on history, but Mitsubishi Motors is now in the book for delivering the first mass-produced fully electric car to New Zealanders.’