Mitsubishi is by no means starting from scratch in the U.S. market — the product lineup is much too stale for that. But with a new marketing agency, Butler Shine Stern & Partners, coming on board and a new crossover, the Eclipse Cross, set to arrive at dealers soon, Mitsubishi is clearly not in the same position in 2017 that it was in 2009.
2017 is set to be fifth consecutive year in which Mitsubishi’s U.S. volume improves and the first year since 2007 in which Mitsubishi sells more than 100,000 vehicles. That’s still a far cry from 2002, when Mitsubishi sold 345,000 vehicles, but Mitsubishi has reasons to be pleased with the growth.
Perhaps more than any other change at Mitsubishi’s U.S. operations, however, the arrival of the plug-in Mitsubishi Outlander symbolizes a new day for Mitsubishi Motors North America. It is, after all, finally here after years of delay, and it’s an exclusive product for Mitsubishi’s dealers, free from direct competition. Yet while the dawn of the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV speaks of further commitment to the U.S. market, it’s not by any means about to become a popular vehicle.
According to Automotive News, Mitsubishi is expecting to sell between 3,000-4,000 plug-in Outlanders per year. For perspective, consider that the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid attracts more than 4,000 U.S. buyers per month.
But Mitsubishi anticipates limited demand for the Outlander PHEV, a relatively popular crossover in many global markets, and will therefore rely upon the model to simply leave an impression. After all, it won’t be long before there will be direct competitors for the plug-in Outlander. “Some of our competitors will be out in the next few years with something similar,” Mitsubishi Motors North America executive vice president Don Swearingen says, “and we want to make sure we make a mark.”
The Outlander PHEV has the potential to excite dealers who’ve lacked unique offerings, even if they won’t be selling the vehicle in large numbers. “We have some dealers that are doing fabulous, and we have some dealers that are a little disengaged,” Swearingen tells Automotive News. Mitsubishi has U.S. dealers that sell 100-200 vehicles per month, the company says, yet the average monthly volume for a Mitsubishi dealer is around 25 units. Yet to date, 15 percent of Mitsubishi’s dealers have not signed on with the necessary chargers and training to be an official Outlander PHEV outlet. Mitsubishi wants all dealers on board, however, as Swearingen considers the plug-in Outlander to be the brand’s new halo model.
While the Outlander PHEV has little potential to boost Mitsubishi’s overall sales volume, Swearingen sees plenty of potential elsewhere. For starters, the Eclipse Cross is landing in the heart of the SUV sector’s growth market. But Mitsubishi could also become more active in the fleet market. Only 11 percent of the vehicles Mitsubishi sells are to fleets, but Swearingen would be content with a retail/fleet mix of 82/18, if only as a means of growing brand awareness.
[Image: Mitsubishi Motors]
Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars and Instagram.
Toyota is being very aggressive with it’s hybrid line, we got a RAV4 hybrid for $700 more. They even beat the price on the Rogue hybrid. A few years ago the hybrid premium was in the thousands. I just used the h word four times.
The RAV4 hybrid is the one to buy, I think. When I was fooling around on FuelEconomy.gov a while back, it showed the return on investment in the hybrid version started to pay off pretty quickly over the equivalent gas – like after a year or so, while it would take 8 years or a decade on most vehicles with hybrid versions.
Subaru was in the same boat during the early 90s. Everyone was looking down on it, it was really unpopular vs. Honda/Toyota/Nissan. Look at where it is now.
Yes, look at it, still unpopular compared to Honda/Toyota/Nissan. Don’t overstate their growth. Yes, they’re doing exceptionally well…for Subaru, but they’re nowhere near the big three Japanese brands, or Ford/GM.
“Yet to date, 15 percent of Mitsubishi’s dealers have not signed on with the necessary chargers and training to be an official Outlander PHEV outlet.”
Which means that 85% are already on board – not bad. Heck, even my local mega Chevy dealer doesn’t carry the Bolt, and they were latecomers to selling the Volt.
In spite of the embarrassing i-MiEV, Mitsubishi *does* know how to build an EV, so the Outlander PHEV might not be too bad, especially for the price.
the arrival of mass market 200mile EVs will put pressure on the PHEV
but
AWD SUV plugin
it will sell, and bring in very desirable tradeins for the Mitsubishi dealers.
the real gold for dealers is that people will trade in Mercedes and Audi to get the Mitsubishi PHEV. (at least that is what happened in UK)
the sales estimate is low ball, this will sell very well for an Mitsubishi.
The USA is a very different market than the UK. Fuel is much cheaper here, and taxation and registration fees are not tied to engine size or emissions.
I very much doubt that Audi/BMW/MB owners will trade into a non-premium also-ran Japanese brand with limited dealers and the reputation of catering to credit criminals.
The real competition is the CR-V, Rav4 Hy, Rouge Hy, Escape, Equinox.
The Outlander is a mediocre product at best. I bet most premium vehicle owners don’t even know that Mitsubishi still even exists in the US market.
Are Mitsubishis built with Kobe Steel?
Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Subaru all use Kobe Steel