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Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV van variant coming to Europe

Mitsubishi's Outlander Plug-in Hybrid SUV will be hitting our shores this fall. Across the Pond, however, it's heading into more no-nonsense territory. That's because the Japanese automaker is making a commercial van variant of the plug-in hybrid for the UK. Mitsubishi will start selling a model called the Outlander PHEV GX3h 4Work in the UK, Motoring Research says. Like the SUV, the model will pair a 2.0-liter gas engine with an electric motor and will have an all-electric range of 32 miles. The difference is that the back seats will be taken out and the glass will be blacked out. Hardcore, we say. The model will be priced at 36,905 British pounds (about $61,000), though buyers are eligible for a government grant worth 7,381 pounds ($12,200). Mitsubishi plans to start selling the Outlander PHEV stateside in Fall 2015. The company said earlier this summer that the US version will be substantially different from the current version, with updates for everything from exterior and interior styling to powertrain efficiency improvements. The model had some battery-melting issues last year in Japan, though Mitsubishi ramped up its production once those problems were solved. Mitsubishi representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the commercial-van variant from AutoblogGreen, but we expect to be hearing more about it soon.

2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV arrives in the US after a long wait

After years of delays, the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will finally go on sale in the US this fall, and the plug-in hybrid crossover will make its debut to the US public at the New York Auto Show. The model was originally supposed to arrive here in 2014, but various problems kept pushing back the date. The Outlander PHEV uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor at each axle. A 12-kWh lithium-ion battery stores the energy. Depending on what the driver demands, the system can operate in three modes: full EV, series hybrid where the combustion engine acts as a generator for the battery, and parallel hybrid where the engine and motors work together. Mitsubishi isn't discussing US output or economy yet. Compared to the version in Europe and Japan, the company plans to tweak the Outlander PHEV for this market. The changes include things like removing support for CHAdeMO charging to due a lack of support here. When Mitsubishi showed the PHEV to journalists earlier this year, the styling was nearly identical to the standard Outlander. The only minor changes were the addition of the charging port and different badges. The Outlander PHEV will also be available with an array of safety and infotainment tech. For example, customers will be able to order a multi-camera system, Forward Collision Mitigation with pedestrian detection capability, Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and an infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER PHEV MAKES U.S. DEBUT AT THE 2016 NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW • 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to go on sale in United States in fall 2016 • Already the top-selling PHEV in Europe, Outlander PHEV is the world's first plug-in hybrid SUV • Outlander PHEV delivers SUV capabilities and EV fuel economy NEW YORK, NY March 24, 2016 – Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) today showed the much-anticipated production model of the all-new 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) at the 2016 New York International Auto Show. The Outlander PHEV is a perfect culmination of Mitsubishi's history of automotive excellence: 50 years of electromobility and decades of four-wheel drive technology honed on the international rally circuit. Featuring a highly efficient 2.0-liter gas engine and two high-performance electric motors, and Mitsubishi's superior Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) system, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is a very capable PHEV.

8 automakers, 15 utilities collaborate on open smart-charging for EVs

We're going to lead with General Motors here. GM is one of eight automakers working with 15 utilities and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) at developing a "smart" plug-in vehicle charging system. Why did we start with GM? Because it's the first automaker whose press release we read that mentioned the other seven automakers. Points for sharing. For the record, the collaboration also includes BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Ford. The utilities include DTE Energy, Duke Energy, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric. The idea is to develop a so-called "demand charging" system in which an integrated system lets the plug-ins and utilities communicate with each other so that vehicle charging is cut back at peak hours, when energy is most expensive, and ramped up when the rates drop. Such entities say there's a sense of urgency to develop such a system because the number of plug-in vehicles on US roads totals more than 225,000 today and is climbing steadily. There's a lot of technology involved, obviously, but the goal is to have an open platform that's compatible with virtually any automaker's plug-in vehicle. No timeframe was disclosed for when such a system could go live but you can find a press release from EPRI below. EPRI, Utilities, Auto Manufacturers to Create an Open Grid Integration Platform for Plug-in Electric Vehicles PALO ALTO, Calif. (July 29, 2014) – The Electric Power Research Institute, 8 automakers and 15 utilities are working to develop and demonstrate an open platform that would integrate plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) with smart grid technologies enabling utilities to support PEV charging regardless of location. The platform will allow manufacturers to offer a customer-friendly interface through which PEV drivers can more easily participate in utility PEV programs, such as rates for off-peak or nighttime charging. The portal for the system would be a utility's communications system and an electric vehicle's telematics system. As the electric grid evolves with smarter functionality, electric vehicles can serve as a distributed energy resource to support grid reliability, stability and efficiency. With more than 225,000 plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads -- and their numbers growing -- they are likely to play a significant role in electricity demand side management.