Report: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV delayed once more

AutomotiveNews reports that Mitsubishi has delayed their production Outlander PHEV once more due to troubles with batteries. Initially, four months ago, the brand delayed the Outlander PHEV due to restricted battery supply from Lithium Energy Japan, pushing the arrival back to 2015. Now a battery-related request made by California state regulators recently delayed the launch of the Outlander PHEV to late 2015 or early 2016.

The reason can be attributed to the fact that all California authorities want all plug-in hybrids to be equipped with a monitoring system for the lithium-ion batteries that keeps track of the batteries’ health and lifespan. This is due to the fact that over time, batteries become worn and lose their ability to hold charges–this is no different than who’s owned a mobile device and noticed a decline in battery charge health over time. This delay however, has resulted in a 16- to 22-month delay.

During the meantime, Mitsubishi is still trying to determine solutions around its problem with their battery supplier, which only allows about 4,000 batteries total per month to be delivered–a figure that’s wholly inadequate for a US-based product launch.

Source: AutomotiveNews

Chris Chin

Chris Chin is the Editor-In-Chief of egmCarTech and is a regular contributor to Automobile Magazine.

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