Mitsubishi sponsors Channel 4 documentary programming

POSTED BY STEPHEN LEPITAK

Mitsubishi is to Channel 4’s programming strand, Documentaries on 4.

The multimillion pound partnership, brokered by Manning Gottlieb OMD, began yesterday with the car brand’s idents, created by Golley Slater, running around the new series, Mr Drew’s School for Boys.

The idents, which state ‘Mitsubishi – changing perceptions with Documentaties on 4’ are part of the first sponsorship deal from the brand in three years.

Rupinder Downie, partnership controller, sponsorship, Channel 4, said: “Channel 4 has an enviable strength in broadcasting award winning, ground-breaking and educational documentaries that continue to inspire and provoke debate. We are proud to announce Mitsubishi Motors in the UK as the sponsor of our acclaimed Documentaries on 4 strand.”

Kate Woodward, general manager of communications at Mitsubishi Motors UK, added: “This sponsorship is a key part of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK’s continued growth, building on the success of 2013 and launching a sustained period of Broadcast activity for the first time since 2009.”

This year will see a the broadcaster run documentaries such as Freshers, and 24 Hours in Custody, which will focus on police detention and Marines.

See video here

Mitsubishi Outlander Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle: Fall

An international space station, an Airbus A380, a hang glider and a wedged tailed eagle combine to give you One epic launch of the world's first plug-in hybrid SUV. With an incredible combined fuel efficiency of only 1.9L/100km and an unbelievable driving range, this SUV demanded something extraordinary. 

http://www.bestadsontv.com/ad/61385/Mitsubishi-Outlander-Plug-In-Hybrid-Electric-Vehicle-Fall

Mitsubishi Asks Consumers to Change their View of SUVs

Mitsubishi has launched a new campaign asking people to rethink their perceptions of SUVs.

The campaign, created by Adelaide creative agency Jamshop, promotes the world’s first plug-in hybrid SUV the Mitsubishi PHEV Outlander, highlighting its efficiencies when it comes to emissions.

Darrell Jacobs, head of marketing communications at Mitsubishi declared in a media release the car and supporting ad campaign are “a game-changer”.

”This vehicle will definitely change your view of SUVs,” he said. “It will do around 50 kms around the city on the batteries alone. The PHEV has a petrol engine as well as two electric motors, all providing power to the wheels in different combinations. It’s an incredible vehicle backed by a great campaign.”

The new Outlander launches on the Australian Market this week. 

http://mumbrella.com.au/mitsubishi-change-view-suvs-218674

Mitsubishi Sponsors Skywire - Branded Entertainment 

http://www.slideshare.net/jeremydumont/50-great-reasons-why-brands-should-use-branded-entertainment-to-engage-their-consumers-fans-through-social-media-by-jeremy-dumont

Mitsubishi eco-car ready to roll

Mitsubishi Motors plans to launch the Attrage, its second eco-car sedan, in the Thai market in July.

The new model will be exported worldwide later. The Attrage is a four door sedan, while Mirage, its first eco-car, is a five-door hatchback. While the Attrage has the same specifications as the Mirage, it is 20,000 baht more expensive due to its bigger size. Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) president Nobuyuki Murahashi said the new model will stimulate the local market this year in the absence of the government’s first time car-buyer programme.

How electricity lost its spark

Toby Hagon
Published: March 16, 2013 - 9:08AM



In taking the wraps off the game-changing Chevrolet Volt hybrid in 2008, then General Motors boss Rick Wagoner said the much-hyped car was about reducing motoring's reliance on oil.

''A great way to open our second century,'' was his introduction to a car claimed to cost less to run daily than a cup of coffee.

The Volt - which went on sale in Australia with a Holden badge last year - was the first petrol-electric car to have batteries that could be recharged from a household power point. Sales have been slow, as predicted, mainly because the Volt's $60,000 price tag is about $20,000 above similar petrol-powered cars.

The thinking behind plug-in hybrid vehicles makes sense. Most people drive short distances daily and would be happy to use electricity, rather than fuel. But for longer distances, a traditional engine can recharge the batteries or help power the car, extending the range of the PHV or PHEV (for plug-in hybrid or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, depending on who's concocting the acronym) to that of a normal petrol-powered car.

The technology is becoming widely accepted as the way forward for hybrids, with most manufacturers following GM's lead.

It also threatens the future of pure electric vehicles, as GM's Volt has comfortably outsold the all-electric Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV in the US.

The first clue that the Volt was a landmark vehicle was the peering over the fence by rival Toyota.

The clear leader in hybrid technology - and the company that in the late 1990s swam against a fuel-rich tide as other manufacturers mocked its then quirky petrol-electric technology - was quick to respond with a plug-in version of its Prius. Others are following suit. Mitsubishi will begin selling a plug-in version of its Outlander soft-roader in Australia later this year.

Volvo, too, was quick to offer a plug-in hybrid - the world's first with a diesel engine - in the form of a V60 that's sold overseas.

Last week's Geneva motor show revealed a rush of new plug-in hybrid machines, with the giant Volkswagen Group also entering the fray. Its quirky XL1 two-seater (see breakout) is an experiment on wheels, teaming a two-cylinder diesel with a lightweight carbon-fibre body and rechargeable batteries to use a claimed 0.9 litres per 100 kilometres.

Other Volkswagen brands, including Porsche, will soon reveal production plug-in vehicles, while Audi is racing down the plug-in hybrid path with its e-Tron models. An e-Tron version of the A3 could be on sale in Australia in 2014.

In Geneva, Audi technical development executive, Dr Wolfgang Durheimer, reinforced the company's vision for plug-in hybrids. ''Our clear policy is plug-in hybrids,'' Durheimer says. ''I'm absolutely convinced that plug-in hybrid technology will be more than just a bridging technology - it will be the answer for the time being in the premium end of the luxury segment.

''Why? Because plug-in hybrids give you the advantages of both electrical and combustion engines, and at the same time, do not carry over the major disadvantages of the individual technologies. That means you can go from completely emission-free in the city limits … cover long distances without any problems and again reach your final destination when you recharge your batteries.''

Durheimer says plug-in hybrid vehicles have broader applications.

''When it comes to individual transportation, I think plug-in hybrids are the solution until we develop batteries with much higher density of energy and much lower weight. These are the limiting factors for the breakthrough of pure electric technology right now.''

The rush to plug-in hybrid technology is also no doubt in response to poor take-up of electric vehicles. After being the starring act for several years, the electric car backed into the shadows in Geneva this year as car makers grow weary of waiting for sales to take off. Electric vehicles were not completely absent from the stands, but no new models were unveiled and car company executives barely mentioned them.

''Public confidence (in electric) has really fallen since its peak at the Paris show in 2010, when we only talked electric,'' BIPE analyst Clement Dupont-Roc told AFP.

Back then, French car maker Renault opened the order books for its first electric models and chief executive Carlos Ghosn said he expected the cars to represent 10 per cent of the market by 2020.

Renault's compatriot PSA also plunged into the space, as did Japan's Nissan with its Leaf.

But as things stand, sales have fallen far short of expectations.

In France, which claims to be the leading market in Europe for electric cars, fewer than 6000 new such vehicles were registered last year. In Australia, the number was only 173, or less than 0.02 per cent of the market; Porsche sold almost eight times as many cars.

The low volumes are part of the explanation for the weak offering in Geneva, but there are other issues.

''There are three tasks we have to overcome when it comes to electric vehicles,'' the president of Japanese Mitsubishi, Osamu Masuko, told AFP at the show.

''One is pricing, second is the mileage they can cover and the third is infrastructure.''

But Audi's Durheimer says there are limited applications for pure electric vehicles.

''Full electric transportation, of course, will also be around, but from my forecast it will be mainly limited to smaller areas to cover inner-city transportation, taxis, mail, delivery transport,'' Durheimer says.

''They can go on electric mode because they pass by the same infrastructure … recharging station maybe, several times a day.''

As electric cars struggle to find a foothold, there's a renewed surge towards fuel-cell vehicles, which perform a chemical reaction to turn hydrogen into electricity.

Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Ford, Toyota and BMW are some of the leaders in the race to produce the first commercially viable fuel-cell car, although they remain challenged by high production costs and a lack of refuelling infrastructure.

Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, whose hydrogen-powered car technology is the most advanced but still prohibitively expensive, will pool investment with its Japanese and US partners. The program aims to cut the cost of technology and launch the world's first fuel-cell vehicles for the mass market in 2017, the companies say.

Hyundai is also betting on fuel cells to leapfrog battery technology and showed hydrogen-powered production models at last September's Paris motor show.

As Daimler and many peers are increasingly convinced, hydrogen cars now offer ''the greatest potential for emission-free driving'', Mercedes-Benz development chief Dr Thomas Weber says.

Plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles may well be the future, but until they come down considerably in cost, more traditional hybrids continue to rule the roost. In the US last year, Chevrolet's Volt attracted 23,461 buyers. The expanding Toyota Prius family, in contrast, found its way into 236,659 homes.

with Agence France-Presse, Reuters

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/drive/motor-news/how-electricity-lost-its-spark-20130315-2g45r.html

Mitsubishi plans B1bn Mirage turbo boost

Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) is ramping up production capacity of Mirage eco-cars this year to meet rising demand for eco-cars at home and abroad.

Murahashi: Eco-cars still quite popular

Nobuyuki Murahashi, the company's president, said Mitsubishi plans this year to increase the capacity of Mirage eco-cars at its third plant production in Laem Chabang to 200,000 units.

It started commercial production early last year with an annual capacity of 150,000 units.

Mitsubishi will spend around 1 billion baht in the capacity expansion.

He said eco-cars or city cars are expected to remain popular both locally and abroad.

"Though the government's first-time car buyer scheme has expired, eco-cars are still cheap and eco-friendly," said Mr Murahashi.

"Mitsubishi aims to sell an average of 10,000 units a month, with Mirage expected to make up 45% of sales."

Late last year Mitsubishi announced plans to spend 4-5 billion baht this year to upgrade three car assembly plants, increasing output and preparing for new models. Some 3-4 billion will be used for maintenance of the first and second plants, also in Laem Chabang, and for equipment replacement to prepare for new models.

The first and second plants presently have a combined annual capacity of 310,000 vehicles.

Once capacity is added at the third plant, the combined production of Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) will rise to 510,000 units by year-end.

Mr Murahashi expects exports to make up 70% of sales this year, as the industry normalises from last year's 60%. Domestic sales are estimated at 120,000 units this year, down from 129,460 units last year.

In January this year, the company sold 13,000 units, a surge of about 80% from the same month last year.

Mr Murahashi said the company plans to increase its showrooms and service centres by another 40 locations nationwide this year, up from 178 mostly in upcountry provinces, to serve new customers from last year.

Mitsubishi upgrades three plants

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/315198/mitsubishi-upgrades-three-plants

Mitsubishi will spend 4-5 billion baht next year to upgrade three car assembly plants to increase the output of existing models and prepare for new models.

Nobuyuki Murahashi, the president of Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand), said 1 billion baht will be slated for the increase in production capacity for Mitsubishi's third plant at Laem Chabang.

The third plant, which currently produces Mirage eco-cars for domestic and international markets, started commercial production early this year with an annual capacity of 150,000 units.

Mitsubishi will increase the capacity of the third plant to 200,000 units next year to meet the rising demand for Mirages at home and abroad.

Another 3-4 billion baht will be used for maintenance of the first and second plants, also in Laem Chabang, and for equipment replacement to prepare for the production of new models.

The first and second plants presently have a combined annual capacity of 310,000 vehicles.

Once the third plant expansion has been completed, the Thailand plant will become the world's largest vehicle production base for Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, said Mr Murahashi.

The plants in Japan will only produce vehicles to serve the domestic market and as a base to develop new technology for Mitsubishi vehicles.

Mr Murahashi said Mirage production in Thailand is 13,000 units per month _ 4,000 units for the domestic market and 9,000 for export, mainly to Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei.

 Since the domestic demand for Mirages is growing rapidly, Mitsubishi will increase monthly output to 6,000 vehicles by year-end.

Thai Auto market gears up for tough Q4

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/marketing/315563/auto-market-gears-up-for-tough-q4 

Competition in the automobile market will likely intensify towards year-end as people rush to beat the Dec 31 deadline of the first-time car buyer scheme. Earlier Mitsubishi announced it will step up production of its Mirage eco-cars by 50% to 6,000 a month in the fourth quarter on strongly escalating demand.

Honda, Thailand's second-largest passenger car company, will also step into the fray this quarter after confirming it will introduce a small sedan with an engine size of 1,200cc and which qualifies for the first-time car-buyer scheme.

Sureethip La-ongthong, the marketing director at Mazda Sales (Thailand) said Mazda has made preparations and informed its dealerships to advise customers carefully and ensure the accuracy of qualified-name lists in order to avoid any problems afterwards.
Customers ordering now will receive their vehicles in January.

"We urge customers to place orders sooner than usual and prepare the documents for submission before the year-end period, when the traffic will become very tight. If customers don' submit the documents in time, then there will be no excise tax rebate," said Ms Sureethip.
The company reviewing how it manages its orders so as to ensure customers do not miss their rebate.

In the first nine months of this year, Mazda's sold 52,170 vehicles, up by 63.8% year-on-year.
The biggest seller was the Mazda2 subcompact at 28,474 cars, up by 43% year-on-year, followed by the BT-50 Pro pickup truck at 19,308 units, up by 156%.

Electric SUV with 800km+ range

STEVE LAGUE, WEST WHEELS EDITOR, The West Australian Updated September 12, 2012, 10:53 am

Mitsubishi will use the Paris Motor Show to continue its rollout of ambitious and innovative "new-age" products.

On centre stage will be the world introduction of the all-new Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) - a car that will have a driving range of more than 800km.

The Outlander PHEV will be powered by two electric motors and a petrol engine that will be primarily used as a generator, similar to the Holden Volt launched in Australia last week.




But unlike the range-extending Volt, which is effectively an electric car with a back-up petrol-driven generator, the Outlander PHEV can be powered by the electric motors, the electric motors with the engine acting as a generator, or a combination of the electric motors and petrol engine.

The world's first plug-in hybrid SUV borrows electrical components from the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicle, combining two 60kW electric motors - one at the front and one at the rear - with a 70kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.

According to Mitsubishi it will have an official fuel consumption figure of 1.6L/100km, compared with the smaller and more aerodynamic Holden Volt's 1.2L/100km.

Mitsubishi has also revealed the Outlander will be equipped with an array of active safety systems, although not all will be across the range or available from launch in November.

In Europe, the systems will come under the e-Assist umbrella and include adaptive cruise control, autonomous braking - called Forward Collision Mitigation System by Mitsubishi - and lane departure warning.

The new-generation petrol and for the first time diesel-powered variants will be available in Australia in the latter part of the year, with the plug-in hybrid PHEV range-topper expected to be added to the range in mid 2013.