Mitsubishi releases first image of its upcoming electric ‘e-Evolution’ car

Mitsubishi’s electric car effort has roughly stalled since the launch of the i-MiEV and the Outlander PHEV back in 2012. But the Japanese automaker is now expected to get back into electric cars more seriously under its alliance with Renault and Nissan.

Now they confirmed that they will unveil their next electric car at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show next month and they released the first teaser image of the concept – pictured above.

The automaker didn’t reveal much beyond the image, but they confirmed that the vehicle will have a ” SUV coupe shape”:

“This very high performance automobile will blend Mitsubishi Motors’ signature 4WD and electric powertrain know-how with advanced Artificial Intelligence technology under a low slung aerodynamic SUV Coupe shape.”

The vehicle is called “the MITSUBISHI e-EVOLUTION CONCEPT” – a reference to the automaker’s previous Lancer Evolution flagship vehicle equipped with Mitsubishi’s signature 4WD system.

The vehicle will be unveiled to the press on October 25th and the public will be able to see it at the show during the last week of October and the first week of November.

Electrek’s Take

Mitsubishi ran into a lot of difficulties over the past decade and it ended up shutting down European and American production. Interestingly, an electric vehicle startup recently took over their plant in the US.

Their troubles were aggravated by their involvement in the Dieselgate scandal, but Nissan partly bought the company last year and aims to revitalize its brand.

Between Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, they plan to launch 12 new all-electric vehicles within the next 5 years and this new e-EVOLUTION is expected to be the first look at Mitsubishi’s part of the effort.

Aside from the ridiculous-looking i-MiEV, the Outlander PHEV was a great first effort in electric vehicles from the Japanese automaker back in 2012, but the program has become stale.

They were supposed to launch the vehicle in the US back in 2015, but it was pushed to 2016 – then to 2017 and it’s still not here.

Therefore, this new vehicle is an opportunity for the Japanese automaker to show that it is ready to take the electric revolution of the industry seriously.