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Mitsubishi NA gets new president and CEO

Last week, we told you that Mitsubishi will be getting a new global president, with Osamu Masuko stepping aside in favor of Tesuro Aikawa. The executive changes at the Japanese automaker are hitting closer to home, now, with official word that Mitsubishi Motors North America is getting a new president and CEO, as well. Effective March 1, Ryujiro Kobashi will take over for Yoichi Yokozawa, 49, who has been in charge since April of 2011. Yokozawa is headed back to Japan, where he will assume a spot in the company's corporate planning offices.
Kobashi, 53, has been with Mitsubishi since 1983 when he was fresh out of college. Previous to taking the top job in North America, he was installed as corporate general manager of the NA office at Mitsubishi's headquarters in Japan, where he coordinated regional operations for the US, Canada and Mexico. Before that, he held posts in planning, marketing, advertising and public relations for the company.
Kobashi takes over the company's North American operations at a pivotal time, when the region is finally showing signs of life after a prolonged period of stagnation. As Automotive News notes, Mitsubishi only sold 62,227 vehicles in the US in 2013, but that figure still represents an eight-percent increase. Its crossovers, the new-for-2014 Outlander and the two-year-old Outlander Sport have been selling relatively well, and the affordable Mirage subcompact is a new arrival at dealers.

2023 Mitsubishi Triton detailed with new frame, new diesel engine

The new 2023 Mitsubishi Triton is around the corner, and the Japanese company has outlined some of the many changes it's making to the truck. The more rugged-looking exterior design hides a new ladder frame, and the pickup will be powered by a new turbodiesel engine. Sold as the L200 in some parts of the world, the Triton needs to be a lot of things to a lot of different people; it can be seen towing cattle in Australia, performing rescue operations in the Alps and being used as a daily driver in rural Chile. Catering to these different audiences isn't easy, but Mitsubishi has largely retained the tried-and-true formula that has made the current-generation truck relatively popular. Mitsubishi kept the outgoing truck's tough body-on-frame construction, though it designed a new frame rather than making updates to the old one. It developed a new double-wishbone front suspension system but kept the rear leaf springs as a compromise between ruggedness and on-road comfort. And power for the next-generation Triton will come from a new turbodiesel engine designed to deliver "a higher output." 2023 Mitsubishi Triton View 3 Photos We'll need to be patient to find out what effect these changes will have on the Triton's ride quality, off-road capacity and towing figures, and technical specifications haven't been released yet. For context, the current-generation Triton's base engine on the Australian market is a 2.4-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder rated at 178 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. Buyers can choose between rear- and four-wheel drive and between a manual and an automatic transmission. Single-cab, club-cab and double-cab models are part of the range in Australia. The 2023 Mitsubishi Triton will make its global debut in Thailand on July 26 at 10 a.m. local time, which is 11:00 p.m. on July 25 in New York and 8:00 p.m. on the same day in California. The truck will be sold in numerous global markets, but the United States isn't one of them. Elsewhere, the Triton will compete in the same hotly-contested segment as the new Ford Ranger and the perennially popular Toyota Hilux. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Recharge Wrap-up: Electric trucking, Mitsubishi plug-in sales boost

A company called Oakridge Global Energy Solutions is providing batteries to Minnesota's Freedom Trucking. Oakridge claims the electric freight trucks can haul nearly 40 tons of cargo almost 400 miles on a single charge. "The custom battery design for Freedom Trucking is an absolute game changer," says Oakridge CEO Steve Barber. The Melbourne, Florida-based startup also says it is providing lithium-ion batteries for Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Victory motorcycles. (Notably, Oakridge was accused last year of failing to pay its employees. Also, of note, Oakridge trades as OGES on OTCQX, the same over-the-counter market as Elio Motors.) Read more from Energy Matters. A new UK poll suggests that nearly a third of drivers would choose a plug-in vehicle for their company car. 23 percent of respondents said they'd choose a plug-in hybrid for their fleet car, while 8.2 percent would choose a battery electric vehicle. Another 7.1 would choose a conventional hybrid, and 47.2 percent still prefer diesel, while only 12.4 percent would choose gasoline (it is, after all, the UK). In all, the poll (with an admittedly small sampling of 282 respondents) shows that alternatively powered vehicles will make up 40.4 percent of future fleet orders will. A recent survey from KPMG shows that 79 percent of auto executives believe hybrids will be the go-to powertrain in 2030. Read more from Fleet News. A reduction in plug-in car subsidies has boosted Mitsubishi's UK sales in February. As the Plug-In Car Grant was set to reduce from GBP5,000 to GBP2,500 ( from about $7,117 to $3,559) on March 1, Mitsubishi saw a run on its Outlander PHEV by customers looking to take advantage of the larger subsidy. Outlander PHEV sales were up 41 percent compared to a year before. The launch of the L200 Series 5 also helped Mitsubishi's performance in February, as pickup truck sales were up 34 percent. Read more in the press release below. PLUG-IN CAR GRANT CHANGE DRIVES MITSUBISHI SALES IN FEBRUARY CIRENCESTER – Sales of Mitsubishi vehicles in February were up 28 per cent compared to the same month last year according to figures released by the SMMT. The rise was driven by a 41 per cent increase in sales of the Outlander PHEV, ahead of the reduction in the Plug-in Car Grant from GBP5,000 to GBP2,500 beginning March 1. The UK's favourite plug-in continues lead the hybrid and electric car sector in 2016.