Mitsubishi will add two more PHEVs to European lineup

Mitsubishi will add plug-in hybrid versions of its its next ASX compact crossover and Pajero/Shogun SUV, CEO Osamu Masuko said.

The plug-in variants will join the Outlander, which already has a plug-in variant on sale in Europe.

Plug-in hybrids have been “well accepted by the market,” Masuko said in an interview at the Paris auto show.

He said the conventionally powered ASX replacement will launch 2016 and the plug-in version will go on sale in Europe and other global markets in 2017. The Pajero replacement and its plug-in version are likely to arrive in 2018, he said.

The ASX is Mitsubishi’s best-selling model in Europe, with 22,389 units sold through August, just ahead of 20,810 sales of the Outlander, according to data from JATO Dynamics. The company sold 2,840 units of the Pajero through August.

Mitsubishi sold 8,953 units of the Outlander plug-in in the first half, according to JATO.

Masuko did not give details of the plug-in powertrains for the ASX and Pajero. The Outlander plug-in has a 121hp, 2.0-liter gasoline engine and 60kW electric motor.