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Mitsubishi reveals mid-term plans including redesigned pickup, SUV and new PHEVs

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi seems adamant that it will soldier on across the globe. Just last week, we told you how the brand would begin selling a pair of rebadged, Korean-built, Renault-Samsung sedans in the US market, and now comes an official statement from Mitsubishi about a mid-term business plan called "New Stage 2016."
As part of the plan, a number of products not sold in the US, like the Triton pickup, Pajero Sport SUV and Delica D:5 will be new or significantly updated, while we'll be seeing a second-generation Outlander Sport within the next few years. Some of these new or updated models may be previewed at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. There will also be an increased focus on the brand's plug-in hybrid technology.
In fact, that technology will play a big role in Mitsubishi's revitalization, as it rolls out its own competitor to Honda's Earth Dreams and Mazda's Skyactiv technology, called @earth Technology (yes, seriously). It's unclear if @earth Technology will develop into an overarching philosophy like Mazda has done with Skyactiv, but with Mitsubishi pushing so hard with hybrids and EVs - part of its deal for those Renault-Samsung sedans was that it would develop EV tech with Nissan-Renault - if we did see an @earth Technology badge on a car, we'd wager that it'd be powered, to some degree, by electricity.

nuTonomy beats Uber to launch first self-driving taxi

In the cutthroat world of technology, if you're not first, you're last. With this in mind, it shouldn't come as a surprise to see tech companies and automakers clawing to be first in line to release self-driving cars. Uber recently partnered with Volvo in a $300-million project that should result in a self-driving fleet as early as next month. But amazingly, a 3-year-old company called nuTonomy has beat Uber to the punch by launching the world's first self-driving taxi in Singapore. Cambridge, MA,-based nuTonomy has been privately testing self-driving vehicles in Singapore since April and is now allowing select residents in the city's one-north business district to be driven around in its self-driving taxis for free. Customers will be able to summon one of nuTonomy's self-driving taxis through the company's app and will be picked up in a Renault Zoe or Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car modified for autonomous driving. While the taxi will drive itself, an engineer from nuTonomy will ride in the vehicle to ensure that the car is operating properly and will take over if needed. There's no word on how many self-driving taxis nuTonomy put on the road, but the trials take the company one step closer to launching its fully autonomous fleet by 2018. The Wall Street Journal's Jake Watts managed to get a ride in one of nuTonomy's self-driving taxis and, while it went well, he claims human cabdrivers may not go extinct any time soon. According to Watts, the self-driving Mitsubishi lacked Tesla's polish and was overly cautious. The car did a fine job of avoiding jaywalkers, parked cars, and pedestrians on the short drive, but hesitated often, which could gives riders motion sickness, Watts said. nuTonomy CEO Karl Iagnemma will be speaking at Autoblog's UPSHIFT 2016 conference on transportation technology on October 6 in Detroit. Related Video: News Source: The Wall Street Journal, nuTonomyImage Credit: nuTonomy Green Mitsubishi Renault Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Electric Uber driverless singapore nutonomy

2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will debut in New York

Mitsubishi is betting big on crossovers and EVs, and some promising stuff is in store for the end of this decade. But in the very near future, the first product in Mitsubishi's EV/CUV strategy will launch in the US: the 2017 Outlander PHEV will finally bow at the New York Auto Show in March. I say "finally" because Mitsubishi already offers a plug-in Outlander in other markets, and overseas the PHEV crossover is off to a great start. Mitsubishi is seeing "great success in Europe," according to Ken Konieczka, the company's VP of sales operations. And when the Outlander PHEV launches in the US later this year, Konieczka thinks it'll attract a lot of new buyers to the Mitsubishi brand. I got to see the 2017 Outlander PHEV at a small event in Detroit on Thursday. It's the only one in the country, and still has to undergo some more testing and development before the CUV ready for the spotlight. Perhaps that's why Mitsubishi parked it in a dark corner of Detroit's Garden Theater. Compared to the regular Outlander you see pictured here, the PHEV doesn't look all that different save some badges on the tailgate and front fenders and, of course, the charging port. But that's not all Mitsubishi has in store for New York. The Mirage G4 sedan will also bow at that show, after its Canadian introduction at the Toronto Auto Show in February. Like the Outlander PHEV, the Mirage G4 already exists in other markets, and Mitsubishi says it has the largest interior volume of any sedan in its class. More information about both models – including pricing and specifications – will be available when both cars hit the Javits Center stage in March.