2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Among March Record Breakers

Continuing to reinvent itself as a credible alternative in the compact and medium crossover categories, Mitsubishi leveraged an all-time monthly sales record from the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport to deliver 8,996 new vehicles in March. That total represents a 70.2 percent increase and was bested last month only by Maserati (as the new Ghibli helped the brand blow up volume by 325 percent, on 963 sales).

Much of that excitement, obviously, is about the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The two-row crossover was first introduced in 2010, and it's been steadily increasing sales ever since. In fact, as mentioned, the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport set a new monthly sales benchmark last month, with 3,264 deliveries that reflected a 33.7 percent spike in volume; that actually represented a bit of a slowdown, too, as evidenced by the vehicle's first-quarter growth rate of 37 percent.

Meanwhile, the three-row 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander itself had an even hotter month, raising sales by 59.9 percent. Now, that was backed by just 1,446 deliveries, but as a sign of where the Outlander is coming from, that total was its highest monthly mark in six years. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the medium Mitsu crossover also remains one of the few vehicles in its class to earn recognition as a 2014 Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Mitsu also had a strong month on the car side of the ledger, at least from a growth-rate standpoint. Its all-new 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage sub-subcompact tallied 1,499 sales in its inaugural March selling campaign, which also became the car's second-highest monthly sales total in its short life span. Finally, the 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer lineup combined for 2,663 deliveries and a 72.4 percent sales jump, with the Evolution model setting off on its farewell tour with a 27.1 percent bump.

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV, after three consecutive months of single-digit sales, seems to have been unplugged completely in March.

Still, Don Swearingen, executive vice president of Sales for Mitsubishi Motors North America, predicts sales will continue to bloom for the brand this spring: "We're going to start our new fiscal year with a bang in April by upping our advertising exposure and continuing extremely attractive incentives for customers who visit our showrooms and see what all the excitement is about."