OREANDA-NEWS. Mitsubishi Motors (MMC) has announced that its Outlander PHEV received the 2013 Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) Five Star Award, cementing the world's first plug-in hybrid SUV as a leader in automobile safety, adding on to its five-star rating from Euro NCAP in December 2013. The Outlander PHEV also satisfied all tests regarding electric shock safety; including protection against electric shock, high-voltage battery electrolyte leakage performance, and high-voltage battery attachment status.

With this award, the Outlander PHEV carries on the record of outstanding safety of its sibling, the Outlander SUV, which also received the 2012 JNCAP Five Star Award in May 2013, in addition to accolades in Europe, the United States, and Australia.

The Outlander PHEV is the first product that reflects MMC's future product development direction - focusing on SUVs with a combination of advanced electric vehicle technology cultivated from its MiEV series, superior 4x4 stability honed from the Lancer Evolution, and SUV knowhow from the legendary Pajero. The Outlander PHEV also won the Car of the Year Japan 2013-2014's Innovation Award and the unique plug-in hybrid system that propels the Outlander PHEV was chosen as the recipient of the RJC Technology of the Year 2014 award.

MMC plans to expand on the Outlander PHEV and introduce a wider range of models based on this product direction in the future, as displayed at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show with the MITSUBISHI Concept GC-PHEV and the MITSUBISHI Concept XR-PHEV, both also a combination of electric, 4x4, and SUV technologies.