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Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV US launch delayed over battery shortage

Mitsubishi resumed full-scale battery production in August after a five-month shutdown due to a safety investigation. Supplier Lithium Energy Japan has been delivering 4,000 battery packs each month since September, but that's apparently still not enough to fill the overseas inventory pipeline for the Outlander PHEV and i subcompact EV while launching the Outlander PHEV here in the US. So instead of the previous tentative launch date of Fall 2014, the plug-in hybrid's Stateside on-sale date has been pushed back until 2015.
That's according to Automotive News, which also notes that Mitsubishi has sold 11,300 plug-in Outlanders this year, though that number reflects the production stoppage over the battery issues. As of April, battery supplier LEJ will be able to supply 5,000 packs per month just for the Outlander, but company president Osamu Masuko has gone on record saying that production will have to rise above that in order to make the US launch.
Every Mitsubishi dealer (and hopefully a fair number of consumers) will be looking forward to a crossover that, for the moment, doesn't really have natural rivals. The Outlander PHEV can drive 32 miles on electricity alone, has a top speed of 75 miles per hour in EV mode and offers all-wheel drive with a towing capacity of over 3,000 pounds. The model should get an impressive MPGe rating from the EPA when it finally arrives and it figures to be a bellwether for the plug-in Outlander Sport and Pajero utility vehicles that are expected to arrive after it. Hopefully 2015 will be its year.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV delayed until early 2016 in US

The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid has been a noteworthy success for the Japanese brand with over 33,000 sales sold worldwide as of the summer of 2014. Unfortunately, the electrified crossover has seen continual delays for its planned North American debut. The latest news about the model pushes back its launch even more. The Outlander PHEV now isn't slated to go on sale in the US until roughly April 2016, according to Mitsubishi North America Executive Vice President Don Swearingen in Automotive News. Dealers are clamoring for the plug-in hybrid crossover, though. "That is going to be a vehicle that really sets us apart from the competition," said Ryan Gremore, 2015 chairman of the Mitsubishi National Advisory Board, to AN. Multiple postponements have plagued the Outlander PHEV in arriving to the US. It was once rumored to launch here in the fall of 2014, but a battery shortage pushed the date to 2015. Subsequently, a California mandate to fit a sensor to monitor degradation of the lithium-ion batteries caused another delay until late 2015 or early 2016. In foreign markets, the Mitsubishi CUV plug-in offers a 12-kWh battery and electric driving range of about 30 miles. However once sales actually begin, the US version is supposed to be completely different with a retuned hybrid system, which could alter these figures. The styling and interior are also supposed to see a change, possibly like the attractively reskinned PHEV Concept-S from the 2014 Paris Motor Show.

Carlos Ghosn vows to 'restore my honor' in first remarks since arrest

TOKYO — Nissan Motor's jailed ex-chairman, Carlos Ghosn, vowed to restore his good name in court after a month in detention, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Friday. "Things as they stand are absolutely unacceptable," Ghosn was quoted as saying via his lawyer. "I want to have my position heard and restore my honor in court." It was Ghosn's first comment since his arrest on Nov 19 for allegedly understating his income by about half over a five-year period from 2010. He was later charged with the same alleged crime covering the past three years. A call to the office of his lawyer, Motonari Otsuru, went unanswered outside business hours early on Friday. The lawyer has previously declined to return calls for comment on the Ghosn case. A Tokyo court on Thursday unexpectedly rejected prosecutors' request to extend Ghosn's detention, which Japanese media said means he could go free on bail as early as Friday. Ghosn wants to hold a news conference after he is released, NHK quoted his lawyer as saying. The executive, who formed a carmaking alliance among Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors Corp and France's Renault SA, said he is not a flight risk and wants to be able to travel abroad, the report said. The Ghosn case has put Japan's criminal justice system under international scrutiny and sparked criticism for some of its practices, including keeping suspects in detention for long periods and prohibiting defense lawyers from being present during interrogations, which can last eight hours a day. Japan has also come under fire for its 99.9 percent conviction rate. The Tokyo court unexpectedly ruled not to extend Ghosn's detention. It said it had also decided against extending detention for Greg Kelly, a former Nissan executive who was arrested along with Ghosn on Nov. 19. It later overruled an appeal by prosecutors against the decision, clearing the way for the possible release of the two men as early as Friday. The court did not disclose reasons for its decision, and NHK said it was "extremely rare" for it to reject the prosecutors' request to extend detention. If Ghosn and Kelly are granted bail, conditions may require them to apply for permission to travel overseas. They could also be barred from contacting Nissan officials. Both executives had not been able to make any public statements since their arrest, although local media have reported that they have denied wrongdoing. Ghosn was indicted on Dec.