Mitsubishi dealerships are thrilled with the arrival of the 2022 Outlander which they view as exactly the type of halo vehicle the brand needs.
The new Outlander started to arrive at Mitsubishi dealerships in April and is the brand’s most expensive model since the 2015 Lancer Evolution Final Edition. It may be a totally different vehicle than the Evo, but it is attracting a wealthier clientele to the brand, Auto News reports.
“The new Outlander is the nicest Mitsubishi we’ve seen in years,” president of O’Brien Auto Team in Bloomington, Illinois, Ryan Gremore said. “That has nicely parlayed itself with market conditions and it’s selling very well.”
Read More: 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Priced From $26,990, First Deliveries Start This April
The average prices of other Mitsubishi models are also on the rise and include the updated Eclipse Cross and the tweaked Mirage hatch and sedan. This jump in transaction prices has greatly benefited dealerships who are now reporting higher profits than in recent years. In addition, the Japanese automaker just reported its best-ever sales for the Outlander and Eclipse Cross in June. Deliveries have also jumped by 12 per cent through the first half of the year compared to 2020.
“The Outlander has come out of the gate on fire,” Mark Chaffin, Mitsubishi Motors North America Chief Operation Officer, said in a statement. “It’s been a long time since Mitsubishi had that level of energy, excitement for a new product.”
Despite the success of the new Outlander, many Mitsubishi dealerships in the United States think that some of the brand’s other offerings, including the Outlander Sport and Mirage, desperately need to be replaced by new-generation models.
“Mitsubishi has to basically revamp half the lineup for us to be competitive, and I don’t see that happening, not in the near future at least,” chief executive of Carnamic auto group in San Francisco, Ayman Moussa, told Auto News.
