Official Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV SUV thread

[GRA]

that looks like how someone who can't draw (like myself) draws a car.

Or the hippo - that's awesome, redleaf!

It does bring this to mind: http://images.wikia.com/disney/images/b/b8/Fantasia-disneyscreencaps_com-8275.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For those who haven't seen it in years, or have never seen it: https://vimeo.com/45556130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mwalsh]

Colleague just got back from the UK and had an Outlander PHEV as his rental. This is someone who is generally a non-EV guy, though he does like to get good gas mileage and is always touting his ability to get 40mpg highway in his Cadillac.

Anyway, he apparently did have convenient charging at one of his hotels, so he decided to plug in that night. Since this particular vehicle was not on his radar and he didn't know what to expect from it, he said he was pleasantly surprised for the 30 miles without having to use any gas.

 

[pkulak]

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/2016-mitsubishi-outlander-phev-facelift-spied-in-japan-photo-gallery-96691.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks pretty damn good to me.

 

[edatoakrun]

After waiting so long for the Outlander PHEV, this news suggests to me that it may not have a long run on the American market.

I am skeptical of how Mitsubishi plans to maintain a profitable presence in one of the lowest-priced vehicle markets worldwide, The USA, while producing vehicles in ~the highest cost country, Japan.

Mitsubishi to end U.S. vehicle output, shutter factory by Nov. if there's no buyer

TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will shutter its only North American assembly plant by November if it can’t find a buyer for the factory, and will soon start shipping tooling back to Japan.

Mitsubishi has several candidates, including at least one Detroit manufacturer, but no solid leads, a person familiar with the matter said. The plant would provide an excellent quick fix for carmakers seeking an incremental capacity increase quickly at low cost, the source said.

“Our factory is very cheap and has small capacity,” he said.

In a statement to dealers and employees in the U.S. on Friday, the Japanese carmaker said it would wind down the underutilized Normal, Ill., plant in November...

"... it is no longer practical to divide production between facilities in Normal and Japan,” it said. “It is with this in mind that we have chosen to consolidate production in our Japanese facilities where there is capacity to serve the U.S. market.”

Mitsubishi will start transferring tooling for the 2016 model year Outlander Sport to its factory in Okazaki, Japan, the person familiar with the plans said...

Suzuki precedent?

Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko repeatedly has said he has no plans to abandon U.S. sales, as Suzuki Motor Corp. did.

Suzuki had denied any intention of pulling out, right up until its November 2012 announcement that it would do so. But signs had been building for years. And Mitsubishi’s recent history in the U.S. mirrors some of Suzuki’s path...


Mitsubishi had already conducted prototype testing of the facelifted 2016 Outlander Sport, which was slated for production at Normal. The vehicle gets an extensive frontend refresh in line with the looks on the reworked Outlander SUV.

Still committed

Mitsubishi said it remained committed to selling cars in the U.S...

http://www.autonews.com/article/20150724/OEM01/150729919/mitsubishi-to-end-u-s-vehicle-output-shutter-factory-by-nov-if

 

[DanCar]

After waiting so long for the Outlander PHEV, this news suggests to me that it may not have a long run on the American market.
I am skeptical of how Mitsubishi plans to maintain a profitable presence in one of the lowest-priced vehicle markets worldwide, The USA, while producing vehicles in ~the highest cost country, Japan.

The plant is expensive for Mitsubishi compared to other plants. They have stated this for many years. I wouldn't be surprised if they open a new plant in Mexico a few years down the road.

 

[edatoakrun]

...I wouldn't be surprised if they open a new plant in Mexico a few years down the road.

Unless Mitsubishi has left the American market by then, in which case the new plant would probably be built in India or...

 

[evnow]

Will Tesla buy the plant ?

 

[TomT]

Yes, an exit from the U.S. vehicle market would not surprise me at all in the future... They are pretty much just an after-thought these days as it is... I can't even remember the last tine I saw a new Mitsubishi on the highway...

After waiting so long for the Outlander PHEV, this news suggests to me that it may not have a long run on the American market.

 

[evnow]

That would explain their reluctance to bring the outlander PHEV to US.

If Mitsu doesn't bring their Outlander next spring, after 5 years of plugin sales, we would still not have a plugin SUV (south of $50k) in the land of SUVs.

 

[pkulak]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. With the US dollar at historic highs, it makes perfect sense to import from Japan right now.

 

[evnow]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. With the US dollar at historic highs, it makes perfect sense to import from Japan right now.

But the decision Mitsu is making can't be undone if USD goes down.

 

[pkulak]

They can stop importing whenever they like and just exit the US market like they've been flirting with forever anyway. But until then, they might as well ship over some SUVs, since it looks like they've already gone to the trouble of designing them for this market.

 

[evnow]

They can stop importing whenever they like and just exit the US market like they've been flirting with forever anyway. But until then, they might as well ship over some SUVs, since it looks like they've already gone to the trouble of designing them for this market.

If they don't ship - it won't be the first time a product was designed but not shipped.

 

[RonDawg]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. With the US dollar at historic highs, it makes perfect sense to import from Japan right now.

If it made sense (to Mitsubishi) it would already have been done by now. And Mitsubishi's business direction here in the US makes no sense at all, which is why they are in such a precarious position right now.

If it weren't for the Mirage, MMA would have joined Suzuki, Daihatsu, all the French manufacturers, and a few others as an existing car company that used to sell cars in the US:

Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/07/collapse-mitsubishi-gradually-recovers-shuts-u-s-production/

 

[evnow]

Those numbers make the decision to postpone Iutlander all the more strange.

They could have easily doubled their lowest sales.

Just shows how little Mitsu cares about US and how feeble Mitsu US subsidiary's influence is on Mitsu corp.

 

[evnow]

Those numbers make the decision to postpone Iutlander all the more strange.

They could have easily doubled their lowest sales.

Just shows how little Mitsu cares about US and how feeble Mitsu US subsidiary's influence is on Mitsu corp.

 

[redLEAF]

Wow, last update to this thread was this past August ...

Yet again, they say it's coming as well as more focus on electric powered vehicles, but no more sedans; I had heard it was selling well in Europe but kind of ignored it as there were no immediate plans for the US. I have seen the newer ICE versions of the full-size Outlander on the roads around Chicagoland but still a pretty rare occurrence:

http://autoweek.com/article/green-cars/mitsubishi-plans-crossover-and-hybrid-blitz-us#ixzz3uOvOxmMe

The first vehicle that will be part of this pivot to crossovers and hybrids will be the Outlander PHEV, which will arrive in the spring of 2016. The Outlander PHEV is currently Europe's best-selling plug-in hybrid for almost three years in a row, dwarfing sales of the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and Renault Zoe on the continent.


I would wonder what kind of content, etc. will be added or deleted for the US market -- price range in the UK is between 34,249 and 40,999 GBP (before rebates) which translates to between $52K and $62K USD. Euro cycle 32 miles electric range (or about 22 miles US EPA).

http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/outlander/explore-phev.aspx

 

[edatoakrun]

No DC for you!

The writer takes a shot at CHAdeMO here, apparently unaware that no PHEV sold in the USA (including the Volt, with it's much larger ~18kWh pack) has DC capability.

And he also omits the more obvious explanation, that DC (unless subsidized) will always cost several times (~$2 a gallon) gas per mile.

I wonder how many i-3 BEVx drivers are passing up the fast and cheap gas fill-ups (despite the tiny tank) for (relatively) slow and expensive DC?

Still, I'd hope Mistu may decide to allow USA buyers a DC option, for the same reasons I've said GM should allow it for Volt buyers.

....Why no CHAdeMO port? Ken Konieczka, vice president of sales operations at Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., said the company decided to omit the port from the U.S. version of the crossover, even though it’s standard on the Japanese model, because there aren’t enough CHAdeMO charging stations in the U.S. to make it worth including.

The Nissan Leaf includes a CHAdeMO port next to the SAE-spec port. But if Japanese automakers such as Mitsubishi start abandoning CHAdeMO for their U.S. vehicles, that can’t be good news for the CHAdeMO backers.

We’re going to see a lot more plug-in hybrids at the Detroit show and other auto shows this year, as the fuel-saving technology gains traction. Keep an eye on who does and doesn’t include a CHAdeMO port.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20160108/BLOG06/160109859/is-chademo-headed-for-chade-no

 

[pkulak]

I agree. If my PHEV had CHAdeMO I would probably never even use it once. The fast charge port is on the other side of the car near the back.

 

[finman100]

I use my Chademo port all the time ('14 Leaf SV).

Here in the PNW the DC chademo chargers are all over the place. everywhere i like to go EV! the coast, the mountains, I-5, clear up into Seattle. you name it. Aeroenvironment is nearly flawless. Others...um, not so much but tolerable for now. I do wish more stalls per location would happen.

dual-power stations seem to be slowly making the scene. CCS and Chademo in one box. Most recently a CCS-only charger in the Albany Freddies parking lot has popped up. Maybe there is a plan for more.

My Leaf is MUCH less usable if it did not have a QC port. Even less usable if had a CCS port! my 2 cents.