Mitsubishi has announced that every one of its 109 franchised dealers is to become a `fully-functioning Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle Centre', with the preparations starting this month.

By March this year, every Mitsubishi dealership will have two salespeople fully knowledgeable in all aspects of the company's i-MiEV electric city car, with a demonstrator car on hand to allow people to experience `living with an electric car'

The demonstrators will be available over a prolonged period, making it much easier for people to make a decision as to whether an iMiEV would be right for them.

There will also be trained service and repair technicians at every dealership, making it easy to keep up with maintenance whether customers have an i-MiEV or one of Mitsubishi's forthcoming plug-in hybrid electric cars, due to arrive within 18 months.

Lance Bradley, Mitsubishi UK's managing director said: "The Pure EV i-MiEV has now been a reality for the last year with lots more new plug-in hybrid technology and vehicles to come to the UK soon. Our dealer network will provide excellent service and be able to offer the best advice to our retail and fleet customers.

"Staff will undertake an extensive training programme so that there is a very clear understanding of the demands and requirements of electric vehicles for consumers, as well as an awareness of the wider industry issues relating to the EV marketplace.

"Their after-sales departments will also comply with compulsory manufacturer training and require specialist tools to enable the service and maintenance of electric vehicles."