Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA) reports that its vehicle sales in the United States during the third quarter of 2023 improved by over 32 percent year-over-year to 22,196. So far this year, the company sold 67,736 vehicles (up 4.1 percent year-over-year).
An interesting thing is that Mitsubishi's sole plug-in model - the upgraded Outlander PHEV - is selling better and better, reaching another quarterly record.
In Q3, Mitsubishi sold 1,887 Outlander PHEV (compared to just six units of the previous generation of the model a year ago). That's 8.5 percent of the brand's total volume.
For reference, the internal-combustion engine Mitsubishi Outlander noted 9,340, so the ICE still outsells the PHEV by 5:1.
Mitsubishi plug-in car sales in Q3'2023 (YOY change):
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: 1,887 (up from six) and 8.5% share
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV sales in the US - Q3 2023
Mitsubishi plug-in car sales in Q1-Q3'2023 (YOY change):
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: 5,104 (up 351%) and 7.5% share
For reference, in 2022, Mitsubishi PHEV sales amounted to 1,961 (2.3 percent of the total volume). This year, within nine months Mitsubishi surpassed its full year record from 2018 (4,166 sales) and is on track to exceed 7,000 sales in 2023.
Let's recall that the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with a 20-kilowatt-hour battery has an EPA all-electric range of 38 miles (and a total range of 420 miles). Its price currently starts at $40,345 plus a destination/handling charge of $1,445 ($1,570 in Alaska/Hawaii).
Before the end of this decade, Mitsubishi intends to offer more rechargeable models, but we don't know any details. According to previous reports, there are several all-electric vehicles in the pipeline by 2028, including pickups and SUVs. As we understand, the new Mitsubishi plug-ins will somehow be related to the Nissan plug-ins (through the same platform for example), as the two Japanese brands are closely related financially, and part of the broader Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.