Following the news of the government’s zero-emission vehicle program, Mitsubishi Motors has announced a $2,500 dealer incentive program across Canada on model year 2018 Outlander PHEVs until the federal incentive comes into effect on May 1, 2019.
The carmaker said the program is also available to Quebec and B.C. dealers where the province already offers electric vehicle incentives.
“Mitsubishi Motors applauds the federal government for recognizing the role plug-in hybrids play in growing EV adoption,” said Juyu Jeon, President and CEO, Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada. “Our research shows Outlander PHEV has brought new customers into the EV and PHEV category who had not considered an electrified vehicle before and that is game-changing.”
The company said its Outlander PHEV accounts for approximately one in four plug-in hybrids sold in 2018, and claims it’s “the first plug-in hybrid in the country” to reach 5,000 plug-in sales in a calendar year. The vehicle, first launched in 2013, and in 2018 in Canada, is also said to be the world’s first plug-in hybrid SUV.
“Plug-in hybrid owners can use their battery for most-to-all of their city driving, and can still fuel up at Canada’s roughly-12,000 gas stations for road trips,” said Matthew Klippenstein, EV Advisor at Plug In BC. “This is important in North America, because unlike Europe, we have a road trip culture. We also prefer larger vehicles, for which plug-in hybrids remain a more affordable option than battery-electric vehicles.”
The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) lobbied the government to roll out a ZEV program as quickly as possible. They also worked to ensure it would include more vehicles — namely plug-in models, which were not mentioned in the federal budget announcement in March.
Mitsubishi’s incentive program will be offered by participating dealers across the nation.
