Mitsubishi has halted production on its Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle and i electric car models after a lithium-ion battery melted at a dealership and another caught fire in an assembly plant.
Sales of both vehicles have also been suspended in Japan, but not in other markets while the Japanese automaker determines whether the battery problems affect vehicles outside of its home country. The Outlander PHEV is currently only sold in Japan, but other markets will continue to sell the i electric cars for the meantime. The automaker did say that the battery issue will not cause a delay on the Outlander PHEV’s arrival to America next year.
Production will hopefully resume in the next few weeks once Mitsubishi determines the cause of the issue. The batteries were supplied by Lithium Energy Japan and currently Mitsubishi suspects that the problem stems from defects in the batteries’ manufacturing. Another possibility is foreign material contaminating the battery packs.
In the meantime, the automaker is recommending that owners refrain from recharging their vehicles through the plug.
[Source: Automotive News]
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