PX-MiEV concept to enter production

Mitsubishi remains committed to selling SUVs in Australia -- seriously. How seriously? The three-diamonds brand has just announced that its first plug-in hybrid will be an SUV and that vehicle is definitely coming here.

Based on the PX-MiEV concept (pictured) unveiled at last year's Tokyo Motor Show, the new SUV will be roughly the size of the current Outlander and will be introduced here with three different drivetrain options "around 2013". The three drivetrains will be petrol, diesel and range-extended hybrid.

Visiting here to hold talks with the Australian government, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation President, Osamu Masuko, made the announcement to local media on Wednesday.

"Our popular SUV range will continue to be a core product in [Australia]. To address environmental concerns we will continue to develop more [low] CO2 emissions versions of these vehicles. And in a few years' time, we plan to launch a new plug-in-hybrid-based SUV."

During a subsequent Q&A session, MMAL staff revealed that the plug-in SUV would be based on the PX-MiEV concept, placing the vehicle in a similar market position to the one currently occupied by the Outlander.

"The PX-MiEV... will no doubt morph into what is our SUV range," said Paul Stevenson, MMAL's VP of Corporate Strategy and P&A Business. Stevenson said that while the plug-in variant was a "priority", it wouldn't be a dedicated hybrid as Toyota's Prius is.

"You go in and say, for example, 'I like Outlander, I like that body style, that's the size that fits'. Okay, what do you want? Do you want some sort of efficient petrol in there, do you want clean diesel in there, do you want plug-in hybrid?" Stevenson answered in response to the question.

One point that different Mitsu execs made during the course of the media conference was that the company abides by a corporate philosophy that there's little difference in technology -- and expense -- between an out-and-out electric vehicle like the i-MiEV and a plug-in hybrid like the future SUV.

With the company determined to ramp up production of the i-MiEV, economies of scale should improve, costs should come down and, where the technology is transferable to the SUV, the plug-in should become relatively affordable. Perhaps, by the time the SUV arrives in Australia, the price premium over a diesel version for the plug-in variant may be not much more than the difference in price between diesel and petrol variants at the present.

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