This week, Alfa Romeo wants their new Tonale to be measured on quality, not sales figures. Trent, a former Alfa owner, has doubts it will make much of a difference.
Debate rages over the safety and reliability of autopilot, also now being called “full self-driving” cars by Tesla – it’s being rolled out even without US regulatory approval.
Plus, the Drive team reviews the new 2023 LDV eT60, the first dual-cab electric ute in Australia with a comparative price-tag to make your eyes water.
After a few wild rebellious years, the legendary Honda Civic Type R has tamed down its styling – but has the lively front-drive chassis been sedated to match? Not at all, as Mike Diff found out.
2023 Honda Civic Type R
Anticipation is building to something close to drooling levels ahead of the arrival of the new Honda Civic Type R. We’ll have to wait a while longer to tell you what an Australian-market car feels like, but Drive has already nabbed a go in a US-spec car in America. The good news is that, on the basis of experiencing one in the Midwest, it seems set to head straight to the top of the class.
The new FL5-generation car is closely related to the outgoing FK8, with the most obvious similarity being the continued use of the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine built in Ohio. Honda is quoting different power outputs in different markets, this due to varying fuel quality and emissions standards, with the US car reckoned to be good for the same 235kW we’ll get in Australia. Japanese versions have 243kW, and in Europe Honda is saying the Type R will have 241kW. All markets get 420Nm peak torque.
Power goes to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential, and the FL5 also sticks with its predecessor’s innovative dual-axis suspension system to help fight torque steer when cornering hard. Other spec changes are all slight. The FL5 Type R is 35mm longer, 25kg heavier – this based on American numbers – and Honda claims its body structure is now 15 per cent stiffer. Nothing radical, this is evolution, not revolution.
More significant are the styling changes. While subtle is the wrong word for a car sporting a rear wing that would be considered too big for most sedan racing championships, the new Type R is a far more harmonious piece of design than the last one. It has grown more mature, losing the cartoonish detailing of the previous versions.
Fake vents and mesh-contoured plastics have gone, the apertures in the front bumper are now all functional, with the ones at each side directing additional cooling air to the front brakes. The vent in the bonnet works to improve airflow over the radiator, and the narrow gaps behind the front arches help reduce air pressure in the wheel well.
Don’t worry, nobody is going to confuse this Type R with a regular Civic. Beneath the XL rear wing it still sports a triple array of exhaust tailpipes in the centre of the bumper, sits on big 19-inch wheels, and sports sizeable brake discs; the ones at the front a reassuringly large 350mm diameter. Being a Type R, it has also gained the right to wear a red Honda badge.
The interior feels both traditional and more modern than the last Type R. The US-spec car I drove had the very Japanese combination of a white exterior with red seats and carpets, these providing some party beneath the sensible regular Civic dark plastics further up the cabin.
While most of the architecture is obviously close to that of the mainstream version, the Type R has a redesigned centre console that both ensures the rounded aluminium gearshifter is in the optimal position, but also incorporates a dynamic mode selector for the Comfort, Sport and Individual dynamic settings. And a +R button that puts all functions into their most aggressive mode.
There is a 9.0-inch central screen for the infotainment, plus a separate digital instrument pack display behind the steering wheel; this re-configuring to a motorsport style when +R is selected. Honda has still put in a row of ultra-bright LED change-up lights above the e-dials rather than rendering these.
Anyone who has driven an FK8 Type R will find the FL5 feels immediately familiar. It has the same ultra-fast steering, now just 2.1 turns between locks, the same beautiful gearshift action, and a light but relatively high-biting clutch pedal.
Even at gentle speeds there are some obvious changes, with a lighter flywheel improving responses at low RPM and helping the motor to drop into a new gear more quickly. Pushing a bit harder also reveals a surprise, with a warning chime that sounds as the engine gets close to the redline to prompt an upshift. Given the K20C1 engine is hardly lacking in aural fury, plus the extra warning given by the change-up lights, this seemed redundant.
At lower speeds, the steering assistance felt a little too light, but adding pace and chassis loading improved it. The sensation definitely improves when the front wheels are trying to deliver both cornering forces and traction at the same time, the steering writhing and wriggling as the differential hunts for grip.
But this stops well short of old-fashioned torque steer, and only in the tightest bends, or full-bore starts on poor surfaces, was there any sense of the front axle deviating from a locked-on line. Thanks to the limited-slip differential, it fights understeer equally well, the Pilot Sport 4S tyres finding huge grip even on what were some greasy, damp surfaces.
Despite the hugeness of the adhesion, there is still plenty of playfulness in the chassis. Even in the gentlest Comfort mode, the Type R allows an impressive amount of throttle adjustability, the rear end tightening progressively as the accelerator gets eased, or more abruptly if the gas is snapped shut. But it is just as happy with a more direct approach, braking hard to the apex of a corner, the rear end lightening as the weight transfers forwards, and then getting hard on the throttle when the exit is lined up.
Don’t worry, the Type R is spared from the heresy of perfection. The US car’s adaptive dampers felt excessively stiff in the punchier dynamic modes. Sport was tolerable when attacking a lumpy road at speed, but +R was much too firm – even bringing the sensation of what felt like Formula 1 style ‘porpoising’.
The gentlest Comfort actually seemed to cope with the real world much better, combining compliance with still impressive levels of body control. I suspect that most American buyers will make use of the programmable ‘Individual’ to combine the punchier powertrain with the softer chassis. The rev-matching function that tries to blend downshifts also felt a bit dull-witted, and was soon turned off. It’s more fun to do it yourself.
There wasn’t much wrong with the previous Civic Type R, but on first impressions, this one seems to have subtly improved in almost all of those areas – and more besides.
The toughest thing for Australian buyers to swallow will be the size of the premium that Honda seems determined to extract over the old car with a drive-away price of $72,600 – and that comes under the brand’s ‘non-negotiable’ strategy. It’s clearly a bloody good car, but is it really going to be $20K better than a Hyundai i30 N sedan? We look forward to throwing them together to find out.
In a world of new energy options, Hyundai has a foot in both electric and hydrogen camps. We get the inside word on Hyundai’s vision of what’s next for Australia.
This interview appeared in part of our documentary, Drive: Electric – Getting Australians ready for electric cars, which is available to watch on our site or on 9Now.
New energy doesn’t just mean electricity, with hydrogen also a viable solution for some parts of the market. To learn more about what the future feels like for Australia, we speak with Scott Nargar, Senior Manager of Future Mobility and Government Affairs at Hyundai Australia.
Drive: From a manufacturer’s perspective, what is the most exciting part of a consumer interest in new energy vehicles?
Scott Nargar: As Senior Manager of Future Mobility, it’s my job to prepare the market for the technology that’s coming.
I think the most exciting part is seeing the change in people’s attitudes towards zero-emissions vehicles and knowing that about 60 to 65 per cent of people will consider an EV for their next vehicle, which is really incredible.
D: At the same time, what is the biggest challenge for a manufacturer?
SN: The biggest challenge for a manufacturer is getting stock of the vehicles, which is going to be a challenge for a little while longer, but we’ll continue to work with the factories around the world to get the supply.
D: Electric vehicles as they currently exist, are better suited to markets where there are shorter distances between high-density population centres. Are electric vehicles right for Australia?
SN: Yes, electric vehicles will work in Australia because the range of cars is getting better.
The charging stations are really fast. You look at the 350kW, 800-volt stations and the car behind us, the Ioniq 5, and all of our new Genesis [models] and Ioniq 6 can all do charging at that speed as well as the Porsche Taycan [270kW].
D: What does Australia need to do to support charging infrastructure better?
SN: As a country, we need to actually look at where the stations need to be, look at those clusters of stations. We’ve patted ourselves on the back for putting one station in, but I think we need to put 5, 10, 20 stations in the same location. That’s how you build a proper network. You have to have redundancy on site.
D: Is adapting existing infrastructure (fuel stations, car dealers etc) the answer?
SN: There are 7000 petrol stations across Australia, all of them in fairly convenient locations, that’s why they exist in the first place. And knowing that you can get fresh food there, and use the conveniences there, is a great place for going and filling up. But so is the shopping centre, so is McDonald’s or KFC or any of your fast food chains. They’re all potential service stations of the future, along with grocery stores.
D: Are other new energy fuels like hydrogen better suited to Australia?
SN: Hydrogen is definitely part of the future.
We established the first hydrogen station in the Southern Hemisphere here in 2014. It gets replaced in quarter-one next year, when we introduce the first vehicle, so we definitely see hydrogen as part of the solution for larger vehicles, but also in trucks, buses, trams, trains, ferries and commercial shipping.
It is the heavier mass of a vehicle, whether it be on the road, rail or marine or even aircraft, where hydrogen is going to be better to propel that mass.
The way to think about it is EVs replaced petrol today, and hydrogen fuel cell replaces diesel.
D: From a brand perspective, what can Hyundai and the wider automotive family in the group do, to better support consumers? Is the plan from the parent company united across its brands?
SN: Accessing stock is a global challenge at the moment. We’re working hard to overcome that.
We know we’ve got the customer base here, the Ioniq 5 that’s behind us, sells out really quickly, and it is really a challenge to keep customers happy that can’t get the vehicle. So we’ll continue to work with factories around the world and as we introduce more factories in this region, they’ll start producing for countries in the region.
Indonesia has just opened. They’re producing for the southern Asian markets. That frees up more supply out of our home factory in Korea.
D: Do you feel that Australia has embraced a change to electric and other new-energy vehicles?
SN: We’re about ten years behind the rest of the world, and when I say that, I mean the modern ‘first-world’ markets.
The emerging markets are probably doing pretty good as well, but we can do better, and infrastructure is really core to that.
D: As a unique market, what does Australia need to do to align with the new energy / future fuel standards adopted by other countries?
SN: We can definitely look at what’s happened around the world.
If we use the US and Europe as an example, there have been some great programmes there and there have probably been some failures as well. So understanding what has worked and what hasn’t worked is going to help us evolve this market a lot faster.
D: Do you think Australia will be able to align within five years, or longer?
SN: I think it’s going to be a challenge.
I think we’ve got a fairly diverse range of vehicles here in Australia – one in four cars sold in Australia is a pick-up.
Where geographically and environmentally, we’re a lot different to Europe especially, and a lot different to the US.
When we look at the way we propel ourselves around the countryside, I think it’ll be a lot longer than five years, but we’re only starting to talk about it seriously now so no one’s expecting us to be there with the best of what’s happening in Europe within five years.
D: Pending a major step change in battery technology, what other future energy solutions do you think will work in Australia?
SN: The batteries are changing, the technology is evolving very quickly and with the current lithium-ion polymer batteries, we have a battery with the capability to be able to control its charging very well. So we control the lows, the highs, the hots or colds and that’s why we warrant the batteries far longer than we warrant the cars.
As we move forward into solid-state batteries and the technology that Hyundai has invested in some countries, we are going see another evolution. But that technology is a little way away yet so we’ll continue to work with what we’ve got and continue the R&D to make the battery technology a lot faster and hold more energy and be able to charge a lot quicker.
D: Cost is considered to be a major barrier to EV adoption. Are new-energy drivelines forcing cars to move more upmarket?
SN: If we look at the safety technology that’s required in cars today, you need to have a lot of active and passive safety technology to meet a five-star ANCAP [rating]. So cars are no longer that $20,000 drive-away like they were with the i30 and the Corolla and the Cruze and all those other ones. So I think we’ve moved past that time.
When you start to add in larger expensive batteries, the cars are going to be more expensive as they are today.
The kilowatt hour per cost of the battery is still fairly high at the moment, but as we get more infrastructure on the ground and we see more cars built, we’re using more of the same components across more drive trains, both small and medium passenger cars, across all of the Hyundai Motor Group brands, we’re going to see that technology hopefully come down and be more affordable.
D: Because of our unique geographic layout and transport requirements, could Australia break the mould and become a leader in new-energy solutions that benefit longer-distance needs?
SN: Yeah, I think there’s a great value-add here.
A lot of the components for batteries you spoke about, with lithium, iron, cobalt, copper, they’re all here in Australia.
There are some great mining resources companies and some great technology companies that want to build batteries here.
We will continue to work with our supply chains and we know that a lot of other manufacturers use the same suppliers that build our batteries, will look at the opportunity to value add before the material heads overseas.
D: With key Hyundai markets pushing for ‘zero emission’ fleets, what is the future for non-EV vehicles in the Hyundai global library?
SN: We look at the cars that sit around us in the showroom today.
They use 100 per cent Australian steel, but we send that steel over as a rock and it comes back as a completed car. How do we value add here and create jobs here for local manufacturing and local engineering to get jobs created here in our country?
D: Will Hyundai become an electric-only brand?
SN: We’re starting to see this, not so much across our chain, but across a number of manufacturers, and I suppose some of the European manufacturers are impacted by it right now, which is why they are pushing quite hard in Australia.
Their choice of internal combustion engines is starting to decline and we’re going to see, various vehicles here, like the Santa Fe, will come as a hybrid just because the European markets don’t want diesel anymore.
So we’re going to evolve as the market evolves and it’s really driven by the different requirements for other markets, so large volume markets like Europe and the US.
Hyundai will be a zero-emission brand, we’ve got a date on that of 2045. We’ll work towards looking at those goals for 2040 and 2035, if and when they’re set by the government to ensure that we have the right mix of vehicles here to meet those requirements.
D: Porsche development in synthetic fuel. Hydrogen. What else is on the table?
SN: For Hyundai, the focus is on zero emissions, so true zero emission being electric vehicles and hydrogen and fuel cells.
So we’ll continue to evolve our range of vehicles, our drivetrain offerings to true zero emission. We’ll work on that across both road, rail, marine and air, so we’ve got to focus on using our E-GMP platform for passenger vehicles, and looking at dedicated fuel cell platforms for our passenger vehicles, but also our commercial vehicles.
D: Some would say Hydrogen is more suited to larger commercial vehicle use than public fleets? is this what you see, or is Hydrogen being underestimated?
SN: It has been underestimated.
Look at the opportunity here in Australia. We import 92 per cent of our fuel so we are the country that is most at risk from a fuel security perspective. We are a net exporter of energy. We don’t rely on energy imported into Australia to run our grids, but for our transport networks, we’re completely dependent on overseas countries and supply chains to get the fuel here.
So we’ve got countries lined up for Australia’s hydrogen, so Korea, Japan, India, Malaysia, right throughout this region, but also Germany.
Why aren’t we looking at our own transport networks first? Why aren’t we fortifying our own transport fleet to networks with our own energy?
D: Will the infrastructure to support Hydrogen be as easy to roll out as chargers?
SN: It’s a greater challenge, there’s no doubt about that.
We’re building a new hydrogen station here in our building that is to be commissioned in quarter-one (2023). So we work very hard with the regulators, with our partners, both government and industry and financiers, to ensure that the infrastructure that goes in is the very best infrastructure.
There’s a benefit of being 10 years behind the US and Europe and that is, we can take all the best learnings and get the technology when it’s at its most mature, but also in the most cost-effective manner to deploy that technology. So we’ll continue to work on that.
D: What does the future of motoring look like in Australia? The govt has made mandates by 2025? What does this mean, is it achievable?
SN: It is achievable, but we need to do it in a very staged manner.
We don’t want to leave anyone behind, and I think it’s going to be challenging to ensure that people who can least afford a new car today, can afford a new zero-emission car with all the latest safety features.
And there’s no doubt that everyone in Australia should be driving the safest cars and the greenest cars, so we need to work very hard that the right measures are in place and the right policies are in place to ensure that no one is left behind.
And I think rushing to get to a target that is too soon is a risk to that.
I think the mix of vehicles is going to change considerably. You’re starting to see now, especially in the ACT and spending a lot of time there engaging with our leaders, the uptake of EVs, especially Tesla is very, very high. They’ve got the highest uptake of EVs per capita but unfortunately in that case they’ve got the lowest deployment of EV stations per capita. So there are some challenges.
We’re going to see a diverse mix. We look here now at the trucks coming past and the buses coming past. We expect that a lot of the state government buses throughout Australia are gonna be hydrogen and be zero-emission, so not only are they emitting no noise or emitting no pollution to the atmosphere, they’re actually cleaning the atmosphere as they drive around.
So there are some extra benefits of heavy vehicles moving to hydrogen fuel cell.
D: What is the most important consideration for consumers in terms of electric or alternate fuel cars in Australia?
SN: Don’t oversize a car because you think you need a battery of 500 kilometres. Fleets especially make the mistake of going, yep, everything needs to be 500 kilometres size battery.
We have, in our Kona EV for example, two sizes of batteries, but some of those fleets are doing less than 30 to 40 kilometres per vehicle per day. So there is no need to buy that more expensive vehicle with a larger battery. So, understand what your driving habits are.
And yes, people do drive to Queensland, although most people fly because it’s cheap, and there is a great network of charging stations here now, but just really understand what your needs are and what technology is suited for your everyday need today so you don’t over capitalise.
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You can watch the full Drive: Electric documentary here or on 9Now.
An updated Hyundai Sonata is in development, quelling reports that plans for a facelift for the current model were scrapped. But will there be another generation after this one leaves showrooms?
The slow-selling Hyundai Sonata sedan has been granted a stay of execution, as photos emerge of an updated model testing overseas – but its future beyond the current-generation car remains under a cloud.
Reports out of South Korea over the last 12 months have cast doubt on the Sonata’s future, amid slowing sales in its home market attributed to the current-generation car’s sharper, more distinctive styling that reportedly hasn’t resonated with buyers.
Different sources have claimed Hyundai would skip a mid-life facelift for the current model (known as the ‘DN8’) to focus on a brand-new model – or vice versa, that a facelift would be launched, but plans for a next-generation model had been shelved.
Photos have now emerged out of South Korea (via Autospy and Cochespias) of a facelifted Sonata testing – shown here in N Line trim, the sole model available in Australia – with restyled bumpers, lights and wheels, plus new metallic inserts on the front wheel arches.
While the front and rear ends appear to be new, the car’s proportions and side window profiles are the same – indicating this is a heavy facelift of the current Sonata, rather than an all-new body over a carry-over (or new) chassis.
However, although a facelift is on the way – expected next year – it’s still unclear if a next-generation Sonata will be developed, after the upcoming facelift runs its course and departs showrooms in a few years’ time.
Hyundai vehicles are typically sold for approximately six years before they are replaced, with mid-life facelifts halfway through their model cycles.
Given the updated version of today’s Sonata is expected sometime next year – four years after its overseas launch – the current model may enjoy a longer life in showrooms than other Hyundai cars, possibly on sale until 2027 (four years after the facelift, or eight years in total).
Australian deliveries of the pre-facelift Sonata only began in mid 2021, after a series of delays – and that the N Line only went into production for overseas markets towards the end of 2020.
Local launch timing for the updated model is yet to be confirmed, however based on the timing of these photos, the vehicle may be in Australian showrooms before the end of 2023.
The spy images show one of the current Sonata’s signature design cues has been ditched for the updated model: LED daytime-running light strips that across the bonnet, to connect the headlights with the chrome side-window surrounds.
Although hard to make a definitive conclusion, the updated Sonata appears to adopt a split headlight design, with daytime-running lights and indicators placed up high, and the main headlight beams below.
Hyundai is likely hoping the fresh look will give Sonata sales in South Korea, where the mid-size sedan has fallen from second place on the sales charts in 2019, to sixth in 2020, and towards the bottom of the Top 20 last year.
The current Hyundai Sonata N Line.
The carmaker has reported 26,830 current-generation ‘DN8’ Sonatas as sold in South Korea over the first 10 months of 2022 – or 40,000 (rounded) with the previous-generation ‘LF’ model included, which remains on sale in its home market as a taxi.
Over the same period last year, about 37,000 ‘DN8’ Sonatas were reported as sold in South Korea, or just under 52,000 Sonatas in total with the LF-series taxis included.
Across the same period in 2017, Sonata sales in the car’s home market totalled 68,600 – down from 85,300 in 2012 and 92,500 in 2007 (all figures rounded).
In Australia, 476 Sonatas have been reported as sold over the first 10 months of 2022 – down from 790 in 2017, 1475 in 2016, and 3157 in 2012 (when it was marketed as the i45).
The current Hyundai Sonata N Line.
It’s unclear if there will be any radical changes inside the cabin of the updated Sonata.
Features available on other Hyundai and Kia cars – but not offered on today’s Sonata – include an augmented-reality head-up display, remote smart parking technology, and an enlarged 12.3-inch infotainment screen (vs 10.25 inches in today’s model).
Given Hyundai’s increased focus on electric cars, performance specifications are unlikely to change from the current Sonata N Line’s 213kW/422Nm 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.
General Motors may be about to square off its Corvette brand against the Ford Mustang, with reports of an electric SUV and sedan in development.
After years of speculation, plans appear to be firming for General Motors to launch a Corvette sub-brand.
US publication Car and Driver reports a new range of Corvette-branded electric cars is due to launch from 2025, including a four-door and SUV – the latter of which will compete directly with the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Drive first reported the possibility of a Corvette sub-brand in early 2021, following information leaked by company insiders to business news agency Bloomberg at the time.
In August 2022, an overseas report referencing insiders revealed an electric four-door model would be launched “by mid-decade” wearing a Corvette badge, with the Porsche Taycan firmly in its sights.
But while General Motors may be targeting the Taycan – as well as the forthcoming electric sedan from Lotus – the latest source told Car and Driver the four-door Corvette would be more of a coupe shape with a liftback (rather than a traditional boot lid).
Despite competition from the Porsche Taycan and Ford Mustang Mach-E, the report claims the four-door and the SUV are “copies of nothing”.
These digital illustrations by artist Aniket Kamble (above and top) provide an idea at what a Corvette SUV could look like (based on a Lamborghini Urus) when it reportedly launches in 2025.
In 2021, former General Motors executive Bob Lutz explained there was room for the US car giant to build on the Corvette name.
“What I can tell you is that Corvette is an extremely strong sub-brand, capable of being carefully expanded,” Mr Lutz told Drive at the time.
“Logically, [the Corvette SUV] would have to be low and more dynamic-looking than the Mustang [Mach-E].”
While unconfirmed reports of an electric Corvette SUV have been circling for some time, word of the electric four-door ‘Vette have only recently surfaced – coinciding with the release of the Chevrolet FNR-XE Concept last week (below).
Designed for the Chinese market, the four-door concept is based on GM’s ‘Ultium’ electric vehicle architecture – the same that underpins the Chevrolet Silverado EV pick-up and GMC Hummer EV.
This concept is not a Corvette-branded vehicle, but its design cues are sportier than those on many other sedans in the General Motors global line-up.
If the electric Corvette four-door does make it to production, it could mark a new era of competition between the group of US carmakers known as the ‘Big Three’: General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis – the new name for the parent company of Dodge, Chrysler, Ram, and Jeep (among many other brands).
In early November, reports suggested Dodge could be planning to bring the four-door Charger back with electric motors and a battery pack, despite the Charger Daytona SRT being unveiled in concept car form as a two-door coupe.
Talk of a Ford Mustang sedan dates back to 2018, but it was an official sketch from the Blue Oval’s senior exterior designer Christopher Stevens in September 2022 that fuelled further speculation about a four-door model.
Joining the petrol-powered Mustang coupe and electric Mustang Mach-E SUV, an electric Mustang sedan would position Ford’s pony-car line-up directly against the reported Corvette line-up.
Above: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former GM executive Bob Lutz in 2011. Credit: Joe Corrigan/Getty.
“Just about every [electric car], regardless of body style, can offer neck-snapping acceleration,” Mr Lutz told Drive in 2021, “so, what will make cars like the Corvette or 911 or Ferrari ‘special’? Glad I no longer have to deal with issues like that!
“[Talk of an electric Corvette] is all speculation on my part, because I know nothing specific about GM’s plans. I do know GM has the deepest well of battery, [electric vehicle] and autonomy talent of any car company on the planet, and will surprise the world,” he noted.
“If I were Elon Musk, I’d start taking tranquilisers.”
Demand has exceeded supply for the first batch of Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrids – but more cars are on the way.
Orders for the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) have been placed on pause, as stock of the 2022 model is drained – however the carmaker says shipments of 2023 examples are on the way.
Mitsubishi Australia says its allocation of Model Year 2022 Outlander PHEVs – on sale since August 1 – has been “exhausted”, due to a mix of high demand and constricted supply due to parts shortages.
More stock is on the way, but on its website the carmaker warns these vehicles – which will be branded Model Year 2023, and are set to be detailed within weeks – “may have different specifications and/or pricing”.
A Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson said in a statement to Drive: “22MY [Model Year 2022] Outlander PHEV allocation has been exhausted, and there is a significant order bank, so the decision was made to put orders on hold for the time being.
“Since its August 1 market launch, there has been unprecedented demand for the vehicle, and that – coupled with the global semi-conductor shortage restricting supply of 22MY – has led to this decision.
“We are working closely with our head office in Japan on securing additional units for 23MY [Model Year 2023], of which we will have more information in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said.
Mitsubishi has reported 3498 Outlander SUVs as sold (referring more to deliveries/registrations than orders taken) between August 1 and October 31 this year – but it’s unclear how many of these are plug-in hybrids.
In past years – when the previous-generation Outlander range was on sale, petrol and hybrid – the PHEV has accounted for approximately four per cent of total Mitsubishi Outlander sales.
Priced from $54,590 to $68,490 before on-road costs, the new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV offers a choice of four model grades and five or seven seats, all powered by a 2.4-litre petrol engine and two electric motors capable of up to 84km of claimed electric driving range.
