Mitsubishi Is Back: New ASX VR-e Electric SUV Confirmed With 516km Range

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The Electric Viking 7 min 1 speaker 8 chapters transcribed 1 month ago
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What new electric SUV has Mitsubishi confirmed for Australia?

Sam Evans 0:00
Mitsubishi has just confirmed that it's finally bringing an EV. I don't know if the rest of the world's gonna get this, but it's coming to Australia. It's not actually made by Mitsubishi, it's essentially a contract manufacturing scenario here. Jaguar iPace, that was made by Magnastier in Austria. Similar scenario here. Mitsubishi have confirmed this car. It's called the ASX VRE. And that VR badge is a very deliberate throwback to the Galant VR4. I like the Galant VR4, by the way, when I was in my teens. The all-wheel drive performance sedan from 1990 that paved the way for the Lance Evolution. So Mitsubishi is dusting off its performance heritage to sell you an electric SUV. But here's the twist most people won't see coming.

How is the ASX VRE built and which companies are involved in its production?

Sam Evans 0:49
This car isn't really built by Mitsubishi, as I already said. It's built by Foxconn in Taiwan. Yes, the company that assembles your iPhone. The ASX VRE is based on the Foxtron Brea, developed by Foxtron, a joint venture between Foxconn and Taiwanese automaker Yulon, sitting on a Pininfarina design platform. I'm gonna say it does look good. Mitsubishi add their own front and rear styling. Their own wheels and interior finishes, but the bones of this car came come out of Taiwan's electronics industry. So remember Mitsubishi was actually an EV pioneer. That's the crazy thing about this story. The iMeave was on sale in Australia, an actual fully electric car. In twenty ten, sixteen years ago. That was way before Tesla arrived in Australia.
Sam Evans 1:44
Then the company walked away from electric cars and watched the market explode without them. Pretty bizarre.

What are the key specifications and performance figures of the ASX VRE?

Sam Evans 1:51
So this launch matters and it's due in Australian showrooms in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty six in four grades. LS, Aspire. Exceed and GSR. Mitsubishi Australia hasn't confirmed the local specs yet, but in Taiwan, this car is called the Foxtron Bria. And since Taiwan builds the right-hand drive versions for our market, The Australian car will mirror those specs. So here's what we do know. The Bria is 4,315 millimeters long. About the same length as something like a Kia EV3. So this is a compact SUV. It's quite a bit smaller than a Tesla Model Y. In fact, it's smaller than a build at O three. The rear wheel drive version of this car gets one hundred and seventy one kilowatt. And a fifty-seven point seven, let's just call that a fifty-eight kilowatt hour lithium-ion phosphate battery.

How does the charging capability of the ASX VRE compare to other EVs?

Sam Evans 2:47
Zero to one hundred takes six point eight seconds and it has 516 kilometers of NEDC range. So that's probably about 480 kilometers of WLTP range. Sounds really good for that size battery. The flagship is all wheel drive, adds a second motor, and it has 299 kilowatts. meaning it can do 0 to 103.9 seconds. Which is genuinely quick and it cuts the sprint time by what nearly half. On the Electric Viking website, I'll put a link in the description below. We have more articles about electric cars and battery technology. than any other website that I'm aware of in the world. So check that out. Link is in the description. And there you'll find our videos and analysis and articles about everything going on in the EV world.
Sam Evans 3:43
That's a kind of accessible performance that I think the industry needs more of. Not million dollar Halo cars, but these kinds of performance vehicles that are relatively affordable.

What interior features and technology does the ASX VRE offer?

Sam Evans 3:52
That said, I don't know the price yet. DC fast charging isn't particularly great. It's okay. 134 kilowatts is the peak. That gets you 10 to 80% charge in 30 minutes. So it's all right. Perfectly usable for the segment, but yeah, certainly far from class leading. Inside, there is a 15.6 inch touchscreen. A nine point two inch driver's display, there is wireless phone charging. Higher grades at ventilated seats and heated seats, a 360 degree camera, panoramic sunroof, and a power tailgate. Well, what we do about know about pricing is this. In Taiwan, the BRIA starts at thirty-nine thousand five hundred Australian dollars. So it's not going to be cheaper than what it costs in Taiwan. Not likely anyway. That's around twenty six thousand US dollars.

What pricing expectations and market positioning are discussed for the ASX VRE?

Sam Evans 4:41
Some analysts say that maybe the pricing will come down to thirty-five thousand Australian dollars.

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