2023 Mitsubishi Outlander Sel on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi to showcase Outlander PHEV Concept-S in Paris

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is rumored to finally come to the US next fall as a 2016 model. In the meantime, the Japanese brand is showing off a concept for an Outlander plug-in at the Paris Motor Show in October with a massive improvement in styling and material quality that the automaker calls the "Sporty and Sophisticated" design theme.
With just a nip and a tuck, Mitsubishi's stylists have made the Outlander PHEV look a whole lot better. Instead of the narrow, squinting look of the current model, the concept shows a more vertical design that puts a big X right on the front end. In the center, there is an updated version of the horizontal grille leading to reshaped headlights. The big changes are found somewhat lower, with an air dam that is much better integrated thanks to black and chrome accents to draw the eye. The company claims that the rear gets similar upgrades with new lights and shining trim running across the tailgate.
The improved styling gets carried inside, as well. According to Mitsubishi, the design features black wood grain trim and silver accents throughout the cabin, and the center console is inspired by Japanese black lacquer boxes. The seats are also covered in hand-stitched leather with horizontal ribs.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is fourth plug-in to reach 100,000 sales

After what seems like a lifetime of delays, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will finally arrive in this US in " late summer, early fall." What's taken so long? Well, Mitsubishi had to sell 100,000 of the big plug-in hybrids in Europe and Japan first, apparently. You could see the milestone coming, since sales have been strong in the markets where the Outlander PHEV was available, with around two-thirds of its sales coming from Europe, Hybrid Cars says. When we spoke with Don Swearingen, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA) earlier this year, he said that sales of around 200-400 Outlander PHEVS a month (10-20 percent of the Outlander's total US monthly sales) would be, " a very good number." Inside EVs says that the Okazaki Plant where the Outlander PHEV is made, " is running at full swing." As Hybrid Cars points out, the Outlander PHEV is only the fourth plug-in car ever to sell 100,000 units. The others are the Nissan Leaf (roughly 218,000 sales worldwide), the Tesla Model S (120,000), and the Chevy Volt (110,000). The next likely candidate to cross this threshold is the Prius Plug In – it has around 75,000 sales – if we count the upcoming Prius Prime updates as the same vehicle. Related Video:

Mitsubishi pondering $2B share sale?

Mitsubishi makes the brilliantly fast, wonderfully fun Lancer Evolution. Outside of that road-going rally car, the rest of the range is pretty poor - the new Outlander isn't bad, but the subcompact Mirage looks like might've been competitive five years ago, while the Galant and Lancer have suffered from serial neglect.
This hasn't just lead to rumors of Mitsu's death in America; the subsidiary of the massive Mitsubishi Group has been in trouble at home, too. It was bailed out by three other Mitsubishi Group companies - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation - between 2004 and 2005, according to Bloomberg. Now, it's attempting to extricate itself from "emergency mode," as analyst Koichi Sugimoto told the financial site, adding that "they're still in the very early stages of recovery."
As part of the bailout, Mitsubishi issued its three saviors billions of dollars of preferred shares, which don't have voting rights. The problem is, Mitsubishi hasn't issued dividend payments since 1998, and these stocks aren't exactly competing with Apple or Google, in terms of value. In other words, they're mostly worthless. With a public offering, Mitsubishi is expecting to raise 200 billion yen, or about $2 billion, in order to reduce the number of preferred shares. If all goes according to plan, it will wipe out preferred shares by March of 2014, or the end of fiscal year 2013.