Mitsubishi set to wither on the vine in the UK – and a slow death for the UK’s best-selling PHEV

Mitsubishi will not replace any of its current models in the UK and Europe as it takes drastic action to stem losses by departing from Europe.

It might seem that Mitsubishi is doing well in the UK, with the best-selling plug-in hybrid – the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – still doing good business. But not good enough.

In fact, following a £1.3 billion loss in the firts quarter, Mistusbishi has decided it has no option but to call time on its European operations, so it will not develop any new models and, once stocks run out, it won’t be selling anything at all.

That will mean the UK’s most popular PHEV will probably only last until next year when a new Outlander arrives, but it won’t be made available in the UK or Europe.

But it won’t be just the Outlander ending its life in the UK and Europe, but the whole Mitsubishi range including the L200 pick-up. Of course, the Mitsubishi Shogun has already gone from the UK.

The exit from UK and Europe are the price Mitsubishi is prepared to pay to turn things around, with their ‘Small but Beautiful’ plan concentrating on minimising costs and maximising profits and concentrating on the South East Asia region where it hopes to increase market share from 6.4 to 11 per cent.

Sad to see Mitsubishi go, but they do plan to continue offering aftersales support in the UK for the foreseeable future.