DEFRA expands Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV fleet

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is expanding its fleet of Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Commercials to almost 100 vehicles.

Having originally ordered 16 vehicles in April 2020, the ministerial department then increased its order by another 20 vehicles before recently upping that number by another 60 vehicles, bringing its total order of Outlander PHEVs to 96.

DEFRA intends to make its entire fleet fully electric but says the Outlander PHEV provides an “excellent” interim means of reducing its emissions and running costs. The new models are replacing older diesel vehicles.

David Rodriguez, sales and marketing director at Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, said: “We are very proud that DEFRA chose the Outlander PHEV Commercial for its fleet and that it has substantially increased its initial order demonstrates that used correctly, PHEVs can significantly lower any business’ carbon footprint and its running costs.

“While Mitsubishi Motors fully supports the move to carbon-neutral transport in the future, it has pioneered and championed the PHEV as an important transitional technology. Recent studies have shown that 70% of Outlander PHEV owners are now considering a fully electric vehicle for the next purchase, compared to just 27% of surveyed drivers of conventionally-powered Mitsubishi vehicles.”

To ensure the vehicles are used as designed, operators are required to fully charge them every evening so that even on longer journeys the combination of electric and petrol power ensures maximum fuel economy is achieved.

The Outlander PHEV Commercial has a total combined range of 372 miles and its WLTP electric range is 28 miles. It was the UK’s best-selling plug in hybrid commercial vehicle last year which, when combined with its passenger car stablemate, made the pioneering PHEV the UK’s best-selling PHEV SUV in 2020 and the third best-selling PHEV across all vehicle segments.

Last year, Mitsubishi announced it is withdrawing from the UK and Europe - confirming it will not bring any new models to the continent. The Colt Car Company, which imports Mitsubishi vehicles into the UK, said in September that stocks of Outlander PHEV models should last for another year.