In spring 2014 Mitsubishi will be launching the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) version of its all new Outlander. Outlander PHEV is a 4×4 SUV built without compromise to interior space. The green credentials for the car are particularly impressive. Outlander PHEV can achieve up to 148mpg and only emits 44g/km CO2. This means that customers will benefit from tiny fuel bills, no vehicle excise duty (VED) and, for company car drivers, a benefit in kind (BIK) rate of just 5%. To add to this list of benefits Outlander has also just qualified to be London Congestion Charge exempt.
Before 1st July 2013 all hybrid vehicles qualified to be Congestion Charge exempt. After this date Transport for London (TfL) tightened the rules meaning hybrid vehicles had to be able to travel more than 10 miles using electric power alone and emit less than 75g/km CO2 in order to qualify. The result was that most of the hybrid vehicles in the market, which generally have an electric vehicle range of less than 10 miles and emissions above 75g/km, no longer qualified.
Outlander PHEV is totally different to current generation hybrids. The car can cover a significant distance and reach impressive speeds using just its electric motors (EV mode). In pure EV mode it can cover 32 miles (using both the combustion engine and electric motors range increases to 514 miles) and, where allowed, it can reach 75 mph (using the combustion engine in addition to the electric motors pushes this top speed up).
Outlander easily meets TfL’s new Congestion Charge exemption criteria and once launched will become one of the largest vehicles to get in and out of London for free.
Toby Marshall, Sales & Marketing Director of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, said,
“Everyone at Mitsubishi is incredibly excited about the arrival of the PHEV version of Outlander. Not only is it extremely clean and green, but it is fantastic to drive. Power from the car is delivered quietly and smoothly. It certainly doesn’t hang around either!
With so much already going for it, the fact that it now qualifies for Congestion Charge exemption is great news.”
Source; Mitsubishi
