Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand – Daniel Cook
Company Vehicle: Can you identify your brand’s single leadership area when it comes to non-ice product? PHEV/BEV/SELF charge hybrid/mhev or other? Mitsubishi Motors NZ: Mitsubishi Motors is focused on being the global leader in Plug-in Hybrid Technology. Mitsubishi was the first brand to launch a PHEV SUV, and in New Zealand has become the dominant player with our Outlander and Eclipse models, comprising 67 percent of all PHEV sales in 2022.
Company Vehicle: What – in your opinion – makes your ‘hero’ non-ice solution better than the others?
Mitsubishi Motors NZ: Kiwis have taken to PHEV, and Mitsubishi PHEV’S now make over 20 percent of all EV/PHEV sales nationally. Kiwi families and businesses love SUVS because they enable us to partake in the adventures our country is known for. With excellent off-road and towing capability, load space and safety, the AWD Eclipse and Outlander PHEVS mean our customers can enjoy their normal pursuits on the weekends, but operate as a pure EV during the daily commute. In short, they get all the benefits of an SUV and an EV, with no limitations or restrictions.
Company Vehicle: Outside of pricing specials, does your brand offer incentives to fleet buyers in respect of non-ice vehicles? Mitsubishi Motors NZ: We provide fleet reviews and usage suggestions to ensure our vehicles will be the best fit for their organisation and meet company objectives.
Company Vehicle: Is Mitsubishi Motors NZ on track with its non-ice vehicle plans here? Have you reached your targets in terms of supplying the market? Mitsubishi Motors NZ: Sales of our PHEV’S, have significantly exceeded our expectations over the past two years. As an early pioneer of EV (IMIEV) and PHEV we are delighted to see Kiwis recognise our expertise in this area. Our goal now is to continue securing more of global production to meet the growing demand in New Zealand from both fleet and retail customers.
Company Vehicle: Do you see a ‘flattening’ of interest or are you still seeing significant uptakes of your non-ice product? Mitsubishi Motors NZ: Demand is still increasing for PHEV in New Zealand, and we believe will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We anticipate a further 25 percent growth in sales in 2023, limited only by supply.
Company Vehicle: In your opinion, is the fleet sector engaging more with the idea of non-ice product and are they as informed about it as they should be, or are there still some gaps that need to be filled in terms of education?
Mitsubishi Motors NZ: I believe NZ fleets are some of the most conscious in the world, being highly engaged with reducing emissions, and it’s great to see. We have many long-term Mitsubishi fleets that have reviewed their vehicle requirements and moved from ICE to PHEV. A number have even moved vehicle type, from diesel utes to PHEV SUVS. Finding they can achieve the same work outcomes, while lowering fleet emissions and operating costs.
Company Vehicle: What do you see the biggest hurdle to fleets taking up non-ice vehicles? At the moment, supply of suitable product is proving the largest challenge for many fleets. Mitsubishi Motors NZ: In many cases a move to pure EV requires significant business process change or disruption. Charging infrastructure is still very expensive, particularly for large battery capacity vehicles and workplace-based charging. PHEV adoption is a way to minimise this additional cost and business risk. Company Vehicle: And the biggest advantage?
Mitsubishi Motors NZ: Obviously the C02 reductions and running cost savings are huge motivators. But we also see a huge shift in driver engagement and enjoyment. PHEV vehicles offer smoother, quieter running and ultimately less driver fatigue for those using the vehicle as a workplace.
Company Vehicle: How have you seen government’s support of the uptake of non-ice product, particularly as it pertains to your non-ice product?
Mitsubishi Motors NZ: The government incentives have made a significant impact to demand for PHEV. They lower the upfront purchase price, and clearly tell businesses what the government direction is.
Company Vehicle: Given there is an Election in October, is there a message you would give to an incoming government, or the re-elected government should that happen?
Mitsubishi Motors NZ: Its important government keeps supporting the introduction of low emissions vehicles. As an industry we need to keep striving towards lower emissions, and improve the age of our vehicle fleet here in New Zealand. This also brings significant safety benefits.
Company Vehicle: Has there been any new information, specifically on the electrification of a utility vehicle, which you can share: timelines, development progress, anything, even if it is status quo (and please reiterate the status quo)?
Mitsubishi Motors NZ:
Mitsubishi Motors is committed to the ongoing development of our PHEV technology. There is also a lot of work underway to lower emissions of ICE vehicles, which we see will have a significant place in our vehicle fleet makeup for the remainder of this decade. Particularly in the commercial space.
Company Vehicle: Can you identify your brand’s single leadership area when it comes to non-ice product? PHEV/BEV/SELF Charge hybrid/mhev or other? Ford NZ: We believe that Ford is the only manufacturer offering EV technologies across a range of passenger AND commercial vehicles in NZ; MHEV (Puma/ Focus), FHEV (Escape), PHEV – (Escape/ Transit) BEV (Mustang Mach E/E Transit)
We know that we bring vehicles that are globally successful – Escape (KUGA)PHEV was the best-selling PHEV in Europe in 2022 and Ford is the #2 EV brand in the US.
Company Vehicle: What – in your opinion – makes your ‘hero’ non-ice solution better than the others?
Ford NZ: Mustang Mach E was designed for performance bottom up and is its driveability sets it apart from other BEV’S. It also has innovative connected features, interior style and technology that set it apart from the crowd.
Whether you choose the entry level RWD trim (with rebate), the 550 Km range AWD or the GT with 3.7 second 0 -100KMS you can be sure to find a practical day to day vehicle that is exhilarating to drive.
Company Vehicle: Outside of pricing specials, does your brand offer incentives to fleet buyers in respect of non-ice vehicles?
Ford NZ: We work with fleet customers to identify how our vehicle best match their use case/ needs with solution tailored to their needs.
Company Vehicle: Is Ford on track with its non-ice vehicle plans here? Have you reached your targets in terms of supplying the market?
Ford NZ: We are on track but have not reached our target as we are in the process of launching Mach E and E Transit Cargo and have more to come.
We continue to evolve our portfolio and have managed to fully leverage our global portfolio of vehicles built RHD at factory and look forward to sharing more news of that in due course.
Company Vehicle: Do you see a ‘flattening’ of interest or are you still seeing significant uptakes of your non-ice product?
Ford NZ: No, we do not – more a progression to wider adoption of all electrified technologies. We believe that there will been an inflection point where the adoption of EV’S is no longer a debate – but we must get infrastructure to match the scaling.
In addition, Importers face aggressive tasks to achieve their respective Clean Car Standard annual targets so the evolution of products that is available in the market will drive further adoption. This is the pattern we have seen in markets like Norway where customer experience is more mature and customers would choose a BEV for not just its sustainability benefits but also a convenient, quiet, and dynamic driving experience.
Norway has been successful in removing this charging barrier with home charging via a wall box routine and plenty of capacity for fast charging on journeys and at destinations that were deployed well ahead of the adoption curve.
Company Vehicle: In your opinion, is the fleet sector engaging more with the idea of non-ice product and are they as informed about it as they should be, or are there still some gaps that need to be filled in terms of education?
Ford NZ: The fleet sector is engaged but there are still may gaps in terms of understanding the technologies available and their respective use cases Company Vehicle: What do you see the biggest hurdle to fleets taking up non-ice vehicles?
Ford NZ: Picking the right vehicle that meets use case needs.
Some vehicles like large vans are not eligible for incentive under the CCD as they are above the 80K cap.
Understanding the charging solutions for home/business/ journey and Health and Safety obligations for providing vehicles to employees.
Company Vehicle: And the biggest advantage?
Ford NZ: Contribution to company sustainability objectives, brand perception and employee satisfaction and WHEN they identify the right vehicle and it’s use case, the higher up-front costs can be significantly offset by lower SMR costs and fuel usage etc.
Company Vehicle: How have you seen government’s support of the uptake of non-ice product, particularly as it pertains to your non-ice product?
Ford NZ: We have seen this mixed – the reality is that some government agencies still need the capability of a 4x4 working in remote areas just as the public do so there is no viable available electrified product at this stage. Ranger is popular as a fully capable 4x4 with amongst the lowest emissions with its 2.0 BIT powertrain and 10 speed transmission. We have however seen strong interest in our Focus and Puma MHEV’S, Escape FHEV and PHEV and are starting to see interest in E-transit Cargo.
The Clean Car Discount is polarising but has had the desired effect on the passenger segment and it is important that it remains in place to ensure manufacturers receive allocation of the right EVS and that they are made more accessible in terms of pricing until there is wider market offering that covers commercial products as cycle plans mature.
Unfortunately, the CCD does not cater well for the affordability of commercial vehicles. These are large vehicles that need to carry large payloads for long distances and need larger/more expensive batteries to deliver this capability and are often >80K. Currently the costs of that capability could be made more appealing of the BEV rebate was available or capped at 100k on light commercials.
Ultimately, this would be good as these types of products have far more daily up-time than your average passenger vehicles so can make a greater real-world contribution to reducing emissions.
Company Vehicle: Given there is an Election in October, is there a message you would give to an incoming government, or the re-elected government should that happen?
Ford NZ: We should keep the CCD in place to enable the transition to support the CCS targets and it should not be withdrawn prematurely as manufacturers have been working their forward cycle plans to account for both policies and this demand side support needs to be there to allow manufacturers time to make the investment to mature the available consumer choice across all segments in the market.
If you withdraw the CCD, then the CCS targets needs to be modified even more – the policies are interdependent.
Company Vehicle: Has there been any new information, specifically on the electrification of a utility vehicle, which you can share: timelines, development progress, anything, even if it is status quo (and please reiterate the status quo.)
Ford NZ: There is no news to share at this point as regards Ranger.
We have confirmed we have both Transit Cargo BEV’S (available now) and all-new Transit Custom BEV coming.