It only seems like yesterday that the Outlander was revised in India with face of the Mitsubishi Evolution X that Mitsubishi touted as the look of a fighter plane. The sales of the Outlander in both its incarnations in India have been lukewarm but globally a new Outlander is ready to make its appearance in some markets with a revised front styling that is more in tune with the traditional Mitsubishi SUV face. But what makes the new Outlander more interesting is that it will be sold in some markets as a plug in hybrid. It is now well documented that Mitsubishi has said that the focus of the company will be on hybrid and electric powered vehicles and one point out ruled out any further Evolutions of the Lancer. After a lot of protests from Evo fans Mitsubishi said that it will continue with the Evo but as a hybrid.
The latest Outlander falls in line with that philosophy. Now what is interesting is that this philosophy of Mitsubishi may not fit in with India where hybrids and electric cars are eschewed due to their high price at the time of purchase. Globally Mitsubishi is still very much in the woods and not fully on the road to recovery. While its strategy could work in developed markets it is unlikely to work in markets such as India, where power cuts are common as is high electric tariff thereby negating the need for a hybrid. Even if Mitsubishi brings in a diesel only model it will not be in this calender year.