Official Recall of Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Outlander Plug-in

Mitsubishi has officially informed about a recall for i-MiEV and plug-in hybrid Outlander SUV in Japan where the biggest part of these models have been delivered so far. A recall in the U.S. may be next.

Development and delivery was stopped in March after a manufacturing flaw caused one of the lithium-ion batteries to melt and another to catch fire. The automaker has since found and addressed the issue, but some of the cars already sold might be affected.

The Japanese brand will recall about 4,000 cars in Japan while less of damaged i-MiEV electric vehicles were delivered in the U.S.

A recall campaign wasn’t reported by the brand’s North American division or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The automaker told Carsbase that around 50 affected cars have been sold outside Japan featuring the U.S. and mostly in Europe where it is also offered as by Peugeot and Citroen.

North American deliveries for the i-MiEV continue to lag behind industry competitors. Nissan announced selling 2,148 of its Leaf EVs in May while Mitsubishi managed to deliver 91 i-MiEVs. Nevertheless, sales are actually rising for the small electric model, with 843 through May in comparison to only 300 units in the same time previous year.