Riding high on the sales success of its Outlander PHEV, Mitsubishi is already looking forward to the arrival of the all new Mitsubishi ASX.
The Japanese firm has had a remarkable upturn in its sales largely in thanks to the hybrid version of its Outlander model.
Company car driver success
This new version of the Mitsubishi Outlander was launched less than a year ago, but thanks to very low emissions for a family crossover, it has proved a big hit with user choosers.
The official claimed emissions of 44g/km of CO2 means the five-seat crossover sits in BIK band 5, the second to lowest band available.
That means for the tax year 2014/15 a 40% tax payer only pays £75 a month for the top spec version, the GX5hs Auto.
Compare that to an Audi A6 saloon 2.0TDi Ultra Black Edition with a monthly tax bill of £241, you can see the appeal of the Outlander PHEV.
Aiming for mainstream company car buyers
The problem for Mitsubishi is how to further accelerate sales particularly with fleets.
That’s why its focus is turning to the next generation Mitsubishi ASX which is likely to go on sale in 2017.
The final production version of the ASX is yet to be unveiled, but the company did reveal the latest version of its XR-PHEV II concept at Geneva.
And according to UK Managing Director, Lance Bradley, it is getting close to being the final production version of the ASX.
Front-wheel drive hybrid tech for low emissions
The key element is that power is supplied by both a conventional combustion engine and electric batteries and motor, with 161bhp power output.
The difference from the Outlander PHEV is that it only drives the front wheels rather than the ability to drive all four wheels as the Outlander can.
The tech also means that a driver can use electric power alone to drive the car, use the engine to just recharge the batteries or use the conventional engine to help drive the car.
Low emissions targeted for low tax bills
It means the company is confident it can deliver CO2 emissions less than 40g/km. Again that would place it in the 5% BIK Band at current levels.
While prices are a long way from being announced the current ASX is priced from £15,184 to £24,884, which compares to the Outlander’s new price range of £23,984-£45,054.
It’s why the UK MD of Mitsubishi Motors, Lance Bradley, believes the next generation ASX can be a ‘game changer’ for the company and ‘can open the doors for a whole new range of customers including company car drivers’.
Parkers will be among the first to reveal the new Mitsubishi ASX with the new model predicted to go on sale in early 2017. Read more with the full Mitsubishi ASX review here or the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV review here.