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The 100,000th EV sold in the US is... a Mitsubishi i-MiEV

The news here isn't that 100,000 EVs have been sold in the US, although that's quite the accomplishment. It's that the 100,000th car is a Mitsubishi i-MiEV - a car that takes nearly a full day to recharge on a standard outlet and can only travel about 62 miles per charge (according to the car's Monroney).
Jabs at the Mitsubishi aside, the fact that US dealers have moved 100,000 electric cars is made more impressive in that it's only been done since the latest generation of EVs arrived, typified by the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric and aforementioned i-MiEV. Chronologically, that means roughly the last two years. It's a number that we can only expect to climb, as EVs gain a stronger foothold among manufacturers and consumers.
Plug In America, an EV advocacy group, crunched the numbers for a contest called #PIA100K, to find the lucky buyer, who would be given a ClipperCreek Level 2 charger (which takes the i-MiEV's recharge time down to just seven hours). The winner, Rich Salmon of Grand Bay, Alabama, picked up his i-MiEV from Pete Moore Mitsubishi.

Japanese automakers welcome North American trade deal, fear what's next

TOKYO — Toyota, Nissan and Mazda welcomed on Tuesday the revised North America trade deal that left Japanese automakers unscathed, but they may face a bumpy ride when Washington and Tokyo hold new talks on over $40 billion of annual U.S. auto imports from Japan. The United States and Canada reached an agreement on Sunday to update the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement after Washington had forged a separate trade deal with Mexico in August. The updated deal effectively maintains the auto industry's current footprint in North America, and spares Canada and Mexico from the prospect of U.S. national security tariffs on their vehicles. Mazda, which ships cars to the United States from Mexico and Japan, called the deal a "big step forward". Nissan, which makes the cars it sells in the United States locally as well as in Mexico, Japan and other countries, said it was "encouraged" by the agreement. Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, said it was "pleased" that a basic deal was reached. Other automakers were not immediately available for comment. While the deal has removed the risk that the disintegration of the pact would have posed to automakers, bigger risks loom large for Japanese firms as a chunk of the roughly 7 million cars they sold in the U.S. last year were shipped from Japan, and a trade deal between Washington and Tokyo has yet to be agreed. The United States and Japan last week agreed to begin fresh trade talks, with U.S. President Donald Trump seeking to address Japan's $69 billion trade surplus, of which nearly two-thirds comes from auto exports. Washington is also investigating the possibility of slapping 25 percent tariffs on auto imports on national security grounds, although it has agreed with Japan to put any new tariffs on hold during the talks. Analysts say the United States may take a tougher stance on auto imports from Japan than from its neighbors. "If Japan requests an exemption from the 25 percent tariffs under consideration, Washington could propose a more strict cap on imports than it agreed to with Mexico and Canada," said Koji Endo, senior analyst at SBI Securities. "That would be a risk." This could be a big blow to Japan, as the United States is a key source of revenue for Japanese automakers including Toyota, Nissan and Honda. The U.S. market accounts for a quarter or more of their annual global vehicle sales, and of their total U.S.

Mitsubishi delays Outlander PHEV yet again for the US

Mitsubishi was so close this time. The company showed the US-spec version of the plug-in Outlander crossover at this year's New York auto show, with plans for it to go on sale in the summer or fall of 2016. But once again, the beleaguered green family hauler has been delayed. HybridCars learned from Mitusbishi public relations managers for both the US and Canada that the Outlander PHEV won't go on sale until next summer. No specific reasons for the delay were given outside of a need "to meet a level of competitiveness that will exceed customer expectations." While we hope for Mitsubishi's sake the company releases the best product it can make, we don't think the expectations of our market will be that high, since there are no plug-in hybrid SUVs in the Outlander's class and price range. Unfortunately delays have been a recurring problem for this model. We first thought it would arrive in 2014 after launching in Japan. But ever since the original announcement, problems including battery production issues and regulatory demands have prevented the Outlander PHEV's US introduction. In the meantime, Japan and Europe have had the crossover for a few years. The car has since been refreshed, and we were promised that updated model but no dice yet. HybridCars also points out that the Outlander PHEV has been the best-selling plug-in hybrid in Europe. We imagine it could be a major success here since it combines plug-in tech with the ever-popular crossover body style, but we won't know until next year. At least as long as it doesn't get delayed again. Related Video: News Source: HybridCARSImage Credit: Drew Phillips Green Mitsubishi Crossover Hybrid PHEV