Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV gets an open goal as other car makers DROP plug-ins

The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid looks to have a potential sales bonanza to come as many car makers, including Volkswagen and BMW, drop PHEVs awaiting WLTP tests.

The Mistusbishi Outlander PHEV has been a cracking success for Mitsubishi, offering a decent plug-in hybrid Outlander SUV without price penalties.

That very sensible marketing strategy has seen Mitsubishi sell more than 100,000 Outlander PHEVs in Europe – more than a third of them in the UK – by the start of 2018 although, when we reported on the PHEV’s success earlier this year, we did wonder how long Mitsubishi could keep sales so buoyant with more and more PHEVs coming to the market.

But it seems Mitsubishi are going to be able to continue making hay for a while at least, as the new WLTP regulations come to the rescue.

Mitsubishi has been clever enough to deliver a 2019 Outlander PHEV which is WLTP tested and coming in under the magic 50g/km emissions level for best tax advantage. But others are struggling.

It seems planning for the new WLTP tests has not been that well managed, and car makers like Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes have all pulled their plug-in hybrid offerings from the market because the new tests will tip them over the 50g/km level. 

It’s probably going to be sometime next year before the ‘missing’ plug-ins get homologated, giving Mitsubishi a bit of an open goal to make sales in the meantime.