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2020 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: 100KM ELECTRIC RANGE THE TARGET

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2020 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: 100KM ELECTRIC RANGE THE TARGET https://goo.gl/q21cfD

Mitsubishi intends to stay a world leader in plug-in hybrid tech, and new-gen Outlander PHEV is the key
The second-generation Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, due around 2020/21, will have a significantly longer zero-emissions electric range than the current model, sufficient to make it an electric vehicle ‘95 per cent of the time’ for the average commuter.

The next version of Mitsubishi’s (in many ways pioneering) plug-in hybrid crossover is expected to have a battery range between 80km and 100km – up from just over 50km on the current model, or 45km on the harsher and newly-mandated real-world focused WLTP European test cycle.

This is the maximum EV range before the petrol engine/generator kicks in and carries the load. Such a setup is why PHEV has come to be known a bridging tech between the rollout of cheap, and long-range, electric cars.

The 100km figure would put the (relatively) affordable Outlander PHEV's battery driving range on a par with the soon-to-be-launched second generation BMW X5 PHEV, called the xDrive45e Performance. Needless to say this will be a more expensive offering.

By contrast, the (nominal) rival Mini Countryman S E All4 PHEV has a 42km electric range, similar to the Volvo XC40 PHEV. Ditto the imminent Subaru XV PHEV using Toyota Prius Prime bits. Rivals are coming out of the woodwork, and Mitsubishi naturally wants to defend its turf.
This is all coming from a chat we had with Vincent Cobee, one of Mitsubishi Motors' vice-presidents, who has an oversight of product development, and who previously worked for Mitsubishi's Alliance partner (and big shareholder) Nissan.

"The all-EV range today on Outlander PHEV has around 50km in pure EV mode before going to a hybrid drive system. We will extend this, the aim we have is 80-100 km, which covers 95 per cent of trips," he said.

"We do this in next generation, but if we go beyond that the cost equation becomes [untenable]." Batteries are hugely expensive, still.

The Outlander PHEV has been a smash hit for MMC in certain markets that incentivise (give tax breaks) for green vehicles. It's sold more than 100,000 of them in Europe, and it's a top-seller in Japan, where it actually makes financial sense.

We don't know tech specs yet, but MMC's COO Trevor Mann did confirm to us that the new Outlander will be based on a shared Nissan-Renault architecture (CMF-C), meaning it will share a starting point with the next Nissan X-Trail and Renault Koleos.
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Car Tech
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