<p>Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp sees hybrid models in Southeast Asia as a key part of its electrification strategy to stay competitive in the region, Chief Executive Takao Kato told Reuters in an interview.</p>.<p>While some Southeast Asian governments are trying to promote full battery electric vehicles (EVs) as a way to cut CO2 emissions, Kato said conventional gasoline-electric vehicles and plug-in electric hybrids were "probably a more realistic a choice for the region for now".</p>.<p>The Japanese automaker is expected to hold a ceremony in Thailand on Monday to officially start local production of a plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander sport-utility vehicle (SUV).</p>.<p>Mitsubishi decided to localise the Outlander's production in part to take advantage of incentives for hybrid technology.</p>.<p>The use of gasoline-electric hybrid technologies to gradually replace pure gasoline-fueled cars is an emerging trend in countries such as Japan and China.</p>.<p>Some automakers, however, appear to be focused on skipping hybrids and switching completely to "pure-electric" battery-electric cars.</p>.<p>Mitsubishi intended to produce Outlander plug-ins in Thailand with key drivetrain systems and batteries shipped in from Japan, and planned to add more hybrid models to its line-ups in Southeast Asia, Kato said.</p>.<p>The company has said it plans to sell some 3,000 plug-in Outlanders in Thailand a year. The plug-in comes in two versions, priced at 1.64 million baht ($55,000) and 1.75 million baht.</p>.<p>Aside from the plug-in Outlander, Mitsubishi will likely launch a conventional gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Xpander SUV for some Southeast Asian markets over the next few years, company officials said.</p>.<p>The gasoline-fueled Xpander car has been sold in the region since 2017, starting with Indonesia and later the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.</p>.<p>In the year ended March 2020, Mitsubishi sold about 290,000 vehicles in Southeast Asia, with a majority of those in its four biggest markets of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.</p>
<p>Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp sees hybrid models in Southeast Asia as a key part of its electrification strategy to stay competitive in the region, Chief Executive Takao Kato told Reuters in an interview.</p>.<p>While some Southeast Asian governments are trying to promote full battery electric vehicles (EVs) as a way to cut CO2 emissions, Kato said conventional gasoline-electric vehicles and plug-in electric hybrids were "probably a more realistic a choice for the region for now".</p>.<p>The Japanese automaker is expected to hold a ceremony in Thailand on Monday to officially start local production of a plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander sport-utility vehicle (SUV).</p>.<p>Mitsubishi decided to localise the Outlander's production in part to take advantage of incentives for hybrid technology.</p>.<p>The use of gasoline-electric hybrid technologies to gradually replace pure gasoline-fueled cars is an emerging trend in countries such as Japan and China.</p>.<p>Some automakers, however, appear to be focused on skipping hybrids and switching completely to "pure-electric" battery-electric cars.</p>.<p>Mitsubishi intended to produce Outlander plug-ins in Thailand with key drivetrain systems and batteries shipped in from Japan, and planned to add more hybrid models to its line-ups in Southeast Asia, Kato said.</p>.<p>The company has said it plans to sell some 3,000 plug-in Outlanders in Thailand a year. The plug-in comes in two versions, priced at 1.64 million baht ($55,000) and 1.75 million baht.</p>.<p>Aside from the plug-in Outlander, Mitsubishi will likely launch a conventional gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Xpander SUV for some Southeast Asian markets over the next few years, company officials said.</p>.<p>The gasoline-fueled Xpander car has been sold in the region since 2017, starting with Indonesia and later the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.</p>.<p>In the year ended March 2020, Mitsubishi sold about 290,000 vehicles in Southeast Asia, with a majority of those in its four biggest markets of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.</p>