Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV is back on track and spinning on the turntable in Frankfurt this week. The new ‘bishi has seen overwhelming demand since it went on sale in Japan in, January (some 18,000 units have been ordered), but production was halted in March after a couple of battery-related fires. Mitsubishi tracked down the problem, and resumed production in August. In fact, it plans to double production to 4,000 units a month.

The Outlander PHEV has a 117 bhp 2.0 liter gas engine that powers the front wheels, as well as front and rear 60 kW electric motors, providing it with permanent four-wheel drive. It claims fuel economy of 44 mpg in hybrid mode, and a 32-mile electric range.

Making its debut on the new model is the GKN Multi-Mode eTransmission, which is attached to the front motor and supports three different driving modes: Pure EV, Series Hybrid and Parallel Hybrid.

The Outlander PHEV will go on sale in Europe this summer, but there’s still no word on a US launch date.

Source: Green Car Congress, AutoBlog Green, Japan Times