Mitsubishi delays Outlander PHEV

Australians will not have access to Mitsubishi’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Outlander PHEV, until early next year due to unexpectedly high demand in Japan.

However, Mitsubishi Motors Australia is lobbying its Japanese parent company hard for an entry-level version of the ground-breaking electrified SUV, which could spell a starting price of less than $40,000.

Production of Australia’s Outlander PHEV has been pushed back to November at the earliest following strong sales of the world’s first all-wheel drive electric vehicle overseas, meaning it will arrive here up to eight months later than planned.

The Outlander PHEV was originally due to join the new Outlander range in local showrooms in May, six months after the third-generation SUV line-up – which continues to be the only mid-size seven-seat available in Australia -- went on sale here in late October.

Mitsubishi Australia’s Corporate Communications Manager, Caitlin Beale, told motoring that two examples of the Outlander PHEV are now due to arrive for marketing and press activities in June, but that first Australian-spec examples will be delayed until January.

“It’s a good news story but not for Australia,” she said. “Global demand is so high that our production dates keep pushing back.

“Production for Australia will now take place in November or December, so we’ll have a launch around then but first customer deliveries won’t happen until at least January.”

Mitsubishi has previously stated it is targeting a sub-$50,000 starting price, and that the PHEV version will command a relatively small price premium consistent with the $5000 gaps between its current Outlander model grades.

However, Beale said that if its request for an entry-level PHEV variant was granted, it would bring plug-in hybrid technology to Australian buyers for a much lower price than widely expected.

Given the cheapest all-wheel drive Outlander variant -- the ES 2.4-litre manual -- costs $33,990 plus on-road costs, the Outlander PHEV ES could be priced as low as $38,990 plus ORCs here.

That will make Australia’s first plug-in SUV considerably cheaper than any other PHEV currently available, including Holden’s ($59,990 plus ORCs) and Porsche’s upcoming Panamera S E-Hybrid, which will cost about $300,000.

“We don’t see it (the PHEV variant) will have a huge premium,” said Beale. “We’re looking at bringing in a low to mid-spec model, and we’re negotiating a similar jump in price as the one that exists between current spec grades.”

The Outlander PHEV will also be available in range-topping Aspire auto form, which currently costs $43,490 in petrol guise and $45,490 with a 2.3-litre diesel engine.

Therefore, if Mitsubishi Australia gets its way, expect the Outlander PHEV Aspire flagship to cost just under $50,000 – around the same price as Mitsubishi’s pioneering all-electric car, the i-MiEV, which was originally launched at around $70,000 but now costs $48,800 plus ORCs.

“It won’t be a $70,000 car,” said Beale.

Given Mitsubishi Australia has decided not to import the Outlander V6 revealed at last week’s New York motor show due to slow potential sales, the PHEV Aspire will be the top-shelf Outlander.

“We decided not to take it (the Outlander V6) because the sales mix is pretty low,” said Beale.

Revealed in final production form at the Paris motor show last September, the plug-in Outlander comes with only five seats because of its rear-mounted motor, inverter and transaxle, but is claimed to offer a zero-emissions all-electric driving range of 50km, thanks to a lithium-ion battery pack housed under the floor in the centre of the vehicle.

Combined with a conventional petrol engine, the Outlander PHEV is also claimed to offer more than 880km of total driving range, and CO2 emissions of less than 49g/km, making it one of the world’s cleanest vehicles.

The all-wheel drive Outlander hybrid will also offer three distinct drive modes: all-electric ‘Pure’ (Twin Motor 4WD EV), range-extending ‘Series’ (Twin Motor 4WD EV supported by generator) and motor-assisted ‘Parallel’ (ICE supported by Twin Motor 4WD).

Beale said the Outlander PHEV’s delayed Australian launch had nothing to do with a production halt announced this week in Japan for both it and the i-MiEV.

Production was suspended after one lithium-ion battery melted at a dealership and another caught fire at an assembly plant.

Sales of both vehicles have been stopped in Japan, where the Outlander PHEV was launched in January, but Mitsubishi said the problem would not delay the model’s launch in North America later this year.

Mitsubishi has sold about 4000 Outlander PHEVs in Japan since January 24, outstripping sales of conventional petrol models nearly two to one. Just 2500 petrol Outlanders have been sold in Japan since October.

Mitsubishi is advising owners not to recharge their Outlander PHEVs while it investigates the cause of the failures.

“It’s being looked at very vigorously now, but won’t delay our launch,” said Beale.

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