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14 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

Mitsubishi unveils new ASEAN SUV

Five seat, compact SUV based on the 2022 XFC Concept

Mitsubishi Motors unveiled its new XForce compact SUV at this year’s Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show.

The XForce is a five seat, compact SUV based on the 2022 XFC Concept and is powered by the 1.5-litre petrol engine used in the Xpander. A hybrid electric variant will be introduced later. Prices for petrol models will range between IDR380m and IDR413m (US$24,800-$26,900).

The model will be built in the Bekasi factory of local joint venture Mitsubishi Motors Krama Yudha Indonesia. The factory has capacity of 200,000 units per year but this is being expanded to 250,000.

Production is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter, according to local reports, with 10,000 units to be produced by the end of 2023. It will be sold initially in Indonesia with launches planned for other ASEAN markets Vietnam and Philippines, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Mitsubishi CEO Takao Kato said: “This compact SUV was developed to answer the needs of drivers in the ASEAN region and has gone through repeated trials in this region”.

High upfront costs could be detrimental towards the growth of the off-highway EV market

The global off-highway electric market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.4% by 2030, per GlobalData estimates. Despite the strong growth, high upfront costs may pose a challenge. Due to the high capacity of these vehicles, they consume large amounts of power from a number of battery packs installed on the vehicle, whose high cost in turn adds to the cost of the vehicle, thereby increasing the initial cost. However, governments worldwide are offering subsidies and tax exemptions in order to help customers to counter the initial purchase cost.