The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid is now set to achieve a new sales record in Japan from the looks of it — with 2016’s cumulative sales now being set to almost definitely eclipse 2015’s cumulative sales.
Sales picked up notably in Japan following on the release of the 2016 model year of the popular plug-in hybrid (PHEV) — with sales for the year totaling (as of the beginning of November) 9664 units; which compares to 9608 units sold (total) in 2013, and 10064 in 2014.
Inside EVs provides more information:
With 1,145 sales last month, and 113% growth year-over-year, the Outlander PHEV seems to really enjoy the fall — unlike its all-electric colleague Nissan LEAF which has been patiently awaiting the 30 kWh versions arrival in December.
…November and December could add more than 2,000 and raise the bar by about 20% over 2014. In total, more than 29,300 Outlander PHEV have been sold to date in Japan. Meanwhile, zero Outlander PHEV have been sold in the US due to an oft-delayed launch. Mitsubishi says Outlander PHEV will finally go on sale in the US next year in late April/May.
Hah. You do have to laugh at that, though there do seem to have been legitimate reasons to remain cautious about Outlander PHEV sales (hence the inability to keep up with demand) — after all, production outstripping demand is a much more significant issue than demand outstripping production…
As noted above, the Outlander PHEV is now set to hit the US market in only a few months reportedly. Given all of the delays to date though, it’s probably best not to bank on that until the model is actually released.
If I understood it correctly, they addressed the poor acceleration from the line. I’ll switch mine the day they increase ev range.