PHEV Is Fine: Mitsubishi Says It Knows What Green Buyers Want

by Steph Willems

Published: November 9th, 2018

phev is fine mitsubishi says it knows what green buyers want

While the brand name inspires more than a few snorts of derision and jokes in North America, Mitsubishi, now backed by the mighty Renault-Nissan Alliance, carries greater clout overseas. The automaker’s Outlander PHEV outsells all other plug-in hybrids in the UK, and global sales of the brand’s vehicles are on the upswing.

Being a part of the alliance means Mitsu will soon have its hands on new architecture, but the brand claims it isn’t about to go all snobby with a line of dedicated electric car models. Sure, there’ll be EVs in the future, but they won’t be standalone models. The automaker claims the technology it’s most known for — plug-in hybrid powertrains — remains the best bet for most consumers, and that’s why it plans to focus mainly on PHEV.

Also, you really won’t need an EV if you buy the next-generation Outlander PHEV, claims Mitsubishi strategy boss Vincent Cobee.

Speaking to Autocar, Cobee said improvements in store for the second-generation Outlander PHEV will render the vehicle’s internal combustion engine mostly irrelevant. Right now, U.S. buyers (who really had to wait before getting their hands on the model) can expect 22 miles of gas-free driving before the ICE kicks in. In Europe, a different testing cycle puts the range at 31 miles.

“Battery EVs have a limitation in terms of range at the moment, and in some countries, that might not be the answer,” Cobee said, adding that Mitsu plans to outfit other models with the Outlander PHEV’s green tech. The executive seems to subscribe to the notion that it’s better having many people driving a plug-in hybrid than a handful of people driving an EV. Even better is building long-range PHEVs that still offers consumers the option of gassing up.

“The Outlander PHEV currently has an electric-only range of 31 miles, and we’ll extend that with the next-generation model: the aim is 80-100km [50-62 miles], which will be enough for most people to do the bulk of their journeys purely on electric power and live a largely EV lifestyle, but still be able to do longer trips when needed,” Cobee said, adding that Mitsubishi’s future lineup will contain fully electric vehicles, as well as hybrids and PHEVs.

No details were given as to which conventional models might get an EV makeover.

In the U.S., where the Outlander PHEV does battle with a range of (usually) smaller vehicles, brand-wide sales rose 8.4 percent, year over year, last month, with year-to-date volume up 17.1 percent. By the end of October, Mitsubishi sales had already created the six-figure mark — a hurdle the brand failed to clear from 2008 to 2016.

[Image: Mitsubishi Motors]

#Green #Hybrids #Mitsubishi #MitsubishiOutlanderPhev #OutlanderPHEV #PHEVs #Plug-inHybrids #ProductPlanning #SUVs

Steph Willems

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Wheatridger on Nov 09, 2018

PHEVs are the best of both worlds. You have an electric car for short runs around town, and you also have unlimited highway driving range on gas. Thirty miles of EV doesn't sound like much, but if you did that every day, that's almost 11,000 miles per year. Somehow, my PHEV C-Max gets almost twice the MPG of my hybrid C-Max- and I drive it over 100 miles per day several times per week. For versatility and cost-effectiveness, it's the way to go. I'll settle for my 65 MPG, plus 80 cents of shore power per day. Even if you offered a wonder car capable of twice that efficiency, you're chasing diminishing returns. So I salute Mitsubishi's choice.

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- HotPotato on Nov 09, 2018
  
  I've driven the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV several times and I like it quite a bit, but at the end of the day it's the same compromise as almost every other PHEV: you get quite short electric range, and asking for all but modest acceleration kicks in the raucous gas engine, and it's not all that efficient once the battery's dead. The Chevy Volt is literally the only PHEV to get it right. The gas engine never comes on until the battery is dead, and the battery is big enough that it never goes dead in typical daily driving. So for your weekday commute and errands, you have a fully electric car that's a joy to drive and uses no gas. But on a road trip, when you do exceed that battery range, the car magically transforms into an efficient hybrid, so you have effectively unlimited range with no need to look for charging stations. It's magic. It's what a PHEV should be. If Mitsubishi can make the next Outlander PHEV go 50 miles on a charge, with a gas engine that stays locked out even at full throttle, and a 0-60 time and highway MPG competitive with the gas model, then it will fulfill the car's promise and keep buyers interested. If not, then maybe their strategy is a blind alley.
  
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- Markogts on Nov 10, 2018
  
  @HotPotato I agree on the issue of the engine kicking in when exceeding 60kW demand, but once yiu get used, it's manageable. Regarding the pure hybrid efficiency, the new 2.4 l should improve the mileage, putting it on par with the Toyota RAV4 hybrid.
  
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- Markogts on Nov 10, 2018
  
  Yes, if your life is that of million other workers with a 9-17 job some 10-15 miles away and some kids to bring around in the same range, then the PHEV choice makes lot of sense. Once the battery is big enough to sustain the peak power demand without calling in the ICE and to allow errands with some height difference too, then the PHEV may represent a good alternative to the pure EV.
  
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- Giskard on Nov 12, 2018
  
  @HotPotato, the general term for the hybrid type of the Volt is a "series hybrid". It is not, however, the only one of that type. My BMW i3 Rex is a series hybrid as well, for example. You have hit the nail on the head, though. Most of the PHEVs on the market have very small electric motors. That means they will perform very poorly acceleration-wise when in electric only mode. So, to say that they are going to increase the electric only range to 50 miles could result in a lot of disappointed consumers if they aren't aware of this. And they sure don't tend to mention it in their marketing. To get full performance you have to use both the electric motor and ICE engine in parallel (duh, that's why these are called "parallel hybrids"). Series hybrids have full performance whether you're using power from the battery, the ICE engine, or both. I definitely prefer the latter, though both designs have their place.
  
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- HotPotato on Nov 13, 2018
  
  BTW Wheatridger, I don't mean to diss your C-Max Energi!! I had a C-Max and loved it; my point was just that I would have loved it more with a Voltec powertrain.
  
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Markogts on Nov 10, 2018

One suggestion to Mitsubishi: keep the DC charging port and put a 32A/7kW charger. Maybe switch to CCS for Europe?

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- Cimarron typeR on Nov 12, 2018
  
  thank you to above 1st hand experience posters
  
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