Mitsubishi Motors to focus on hybrids in Southeast Asia, part of regional 'electrification' push

Norihiko Shirouzu


Reuters

December 21, 2020 11:06 am +08

(Dec 21): Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp sees hybrid models in Southeast Asia as a key part of its electrification strategy to stay competitive in the region, Chief Executive Takao Kato told Reuters in an interview.

While some Southeast Asian governments are trying to promote full battery electric vehicles (EVs) as a way to cut CO2 emissions, Kato said conventional gasoline-electric vehicles and plug-in electric hybrids were "probably a more realistic a choice for the region for now".

The Japanese automaker is expected to hold a ceremony in Thailand on Monday to officially start local production of a plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander sport-utility vehicle (SUV).

Mitsubishi decided to localise the Outlander's production in part to take advantage of incentives for hybrid technology.

The use of gasoline-electric hybrid technologies to gradually replace pure gasoline-fueled cars is an emerging trend in countries such as Japan and China.

Some automakers, however, appear to be focused on skipping hybrids and switching completely to "pure-electric" battery electric cars.

Mitsubishi intended to produce Outlander plug-ins in Thailand with key drivetrain systems and batteries shipped in from Japan, and planned to add more hybrid models to its line-ups in Southeast Asia, Kato said.

The company has said it plans to sell some 3,000 plug-in Outlanders in Thailand a year. The plug-in comes in two versions, priced at 1.64 million baht ($55,000) and 1.75 million baht.

Aside from the plug-in Outlander, Mitsubishi will likely launch a conventional gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Xpander SUV for some Southeast Asian markets over the next few years, company officials said.

The gasoline-fueled Xpander car has been sold in the region since 2017, starting with Indonesia and later the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.

In the year ended March 2020, Mitsubishi sold about 290,000 vehicles in Southeast Asia, with a majority of those in its four biggest markets of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. ($1 = 29.9900 baht)

Back in July 2020, Mitsubishi Motors laid out its plans until 2023. That included launch plans for the all-new Strada and Montero Sport, along with the redesigned Xpander. It also included a launch year for the Xpander HEV.

Now, we have an update on Mitsubishi Motors' roadmap in the region. CNN Indonesia reported more investments at the Indonesia plant that assembles the Xpander and Xpander Cross. They are also retooling the assembly line for the hybridized Xpander. The total cost of this investment is 11.2 trillion rupiahs or PHP 37,749,490,620 at current exchange rates. (
(RM3.2 Billion)

With that, the model could roll out sooner than expected. But the question now is this, what can we expect from the electrically-assisted Xpander?

It seems that Mitsubishi Motors is going for the full hybridization. If we look at the previous release from MMC, it says Xpander HEV. Those syllables are a clue to what kind of powertrain it might get. If Mitsubishi opted for mild-hybrid power, it would say MHEV. It would say PHEV if it will come with a plug-in hybrid system. Of course, MMC could have just put in HEV to put it under a general category. Still, the idea of a hybrid Xpander is rather interesting, mild or not.

But what can power the Xpander HEV? One candidate is the powertrain from the Delica D:2 sold in Japan. It uses a 1.2-liter engine paired to a DC synchronous motor and a continuously variable transmission. The engine puts out 91 PS and 118 Nm of torque, while the electric motors make 3.1 PS and 5.1 Nm of torque. Per the manufacturer, it can get up to 22.4 kilometers per liter under mixed driving conditions.

We will know more about the Xpander HEV as its launch date gets closer. But one thing is for sure, production is about to get started along with the next-generation gas-fed model. While it's slated for a 2023 release, it might premiere as early as next year.