Mitsubishi Motors North America Sees Upsurge for Outlander PHEV in 2023

Things are going to get pretty hectic over the next few years for the auto industry. With every major automaker planning to release some BEV models by 2025-2027, we’re expecting to see a whole new segment of the market open up. Some sources say the risk automakers are taking on consumers making the switch may not pay off, but whoever said that is about to be proven wrong. In a crazy turn of events, Mitsubishi Motors, an automaker with zero battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in its lineup had an amazing year in 2023 for its legendary Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV).

A flagship of the automaker, Mitsubishi Motors has had the Outlander PHEV overseas for years now. In 2022, it wasn’t doing too well, with the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross said to become the next flagship vehicle when the automaker released a plug-in hybrid version of that. We think that idea was scrapped, because we haven’t heard anything. Then, in 2023, things took a turn, and the Outlander PHEV saw a large increase in sales. As a matter of fact, over the past 12 months, consumer interest in plug-in hybrids has started to climb, and Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) sold 6,681 Outlander Plug-in Hybrid units, representing an increase of 240.7 percent over the previous year (2022).

With a total of fourth-quarter 2023 sales of 19,604 units, and full-year sales of 87,340 units, 6,681 is a nice piece of the pie, but the original Outlander has it beat. Selling 42,501 gasoline Mitsubishi Outlander units in 2023, an annual increase of 3.8 percent, this is actually monumental for the model. 2023 was an all-time sales record, and the best year since Mitsubishi launched the Outlander nameplate in 2002. Selling 1.8 percent more than 2022 may not sound like much, but the sales will definitely help Mitsubishi with its latest investment into Ampere (more on that later).

2023 also saw the end of the Mitsubishi Mirage, the most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered hatchback on the market. Combined with the Mirage G4 that’s still prattling along, their sales rose by 26.9 percent. Consumers can still find the Mitsubishi Mirage at University Mitsubishi while supplies last.

As for Ampere, in 2022, Renault of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance proposed an investment into a new subsidiary company, Ampere. This new company would also be the name behind a new BEV facility to kick BEV production into high gear for the Alliance. Mitsubishi Motors was reluctant at first, but after the success it was seeing in 2023, the automaker was confident enough in its revenue to take the risk and invest in Ampere. From what the Alliance has reported, that investment will soon pay off, with new vehicles already set to debut for Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan. We’ve been waiting a long time for Mitsubishi to release something new, and rumors say the Outlander PHEV may finally have a contender for the flagship role once Ampere gets going.

Only time will tell how well the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance will fare in the world of BEVs. It’s anyone’s game, and we plan to watch it go down. Follow along with us on University Mitsubishi social media.

Photo Source/Copyright: Mitsubishi Motors