Outlander Sport First to Receive Mitsubishi Plug-In Technology in U.S.
Six more PHEVs or EVs will follow on a global basis before the end of 2015, as part of a plan to remake the brand into an alternative-propulsion pioneer, a top executive says.
![Outlander Sport First to Receive Mitsubishi Plug-In Technology in U.S. Outlander Sport First to Receive Mitsubishi Plug-In Technology in U.S.](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt7121b6ec5c11097b/blt88818e016a6cc46d/6619bd565727d70850d2921c/11-mitsubishi-outlander-sport_0.jpg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale)
OKAZAKI, Japan – Mitsubishi will make the Outlander Sport cross/utility vehicle one of its first U.S. plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by 2013, the auto maker’s chief of electric vehicles tells Ward’s.
Mitsubishi earlier said it plans to launch production of the CUV at its Normal, Il, plant in summer 2012. Sold as the RVR in Japan and ASX in other markets, the compact CUV currently is exported from the auto maker’s Okazaki plant in Aichi.
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
The Outlander Sport PHEV version, shown in concept form in Tokyo two years ago, would mark the second electrified U.S. product for the Japanese car company. Its tiny i-MiEV, a fully electric A-segment car, arrives in California and Hawaii in November.
However, Mitsubishi will shorten the i-MiEV name to “i” when it goes on sale in the U.S., says Yoshikazu Nakamura, corporate general manager-Mitsubishi EV Business, explaining the truncated name is easier for consumers to grasp.
“MiEV,” which stands for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle, will remain as part of the nomenclature, but refer specifically to the technology.
Six more PHEVs or EVs will follow on a global basis before the end of 2015, as part of the auto maker’s plan to remake the brand into an alternative-propulsion pioneer.