Good News for the New BEV Coming from Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors
Remember that report on new models coming from Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors we did back in April? It would seem that it holds more water than one would think. Yes, new models are coming to the U.S. due to a collaboration between Nissan and Mitsubishi – a pickup truck and a battery-electric vehicle (BEV). Neither one has anything to do with the new models coming to either automaker from the Ampere BEV facility the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance invested in. The question, however, is how?
It sounds unreal, but at the moment, North America is more popular with Mitsubishi Motors than its hometown. Yeah, that’s right. Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese automaker, but Southeast Asia has all but fallen off the map when it comes to consumer interest. There is talk of Mitsubishi pulling out of China due to low sales, and there was a time when the automaker was also going to bounce out of Europe before Renault calmed it down and offered a rebadged Renault Clio to introduce to the market. That rebadge became the new Mitsubishi Colt.
Depending on how old you are, you might remember the Mitsubishi Colt. We had a special series of blog articles on Mitsubishi Sports Cars from the Past, and the Mitsubishi Colt was one of them. With three generations, plus a Mirage-based model, the Mitsubishi Colt was a popular nameplate for the automaker. Now, it’s back, and the Colt is offering a hybrid option this time around.
Speaking of the Mitsubishi Mirage, that could be one of the reasons North America has taken over as the prime interest in Mitsubishi Motors models. In 2023, Mitsubishi Motors announced that the automaker was discontinuing the Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback. This news most likely also extends to the Mirage G4 subcompact sedan, since the two are usually lumped together whenever there is news about one or the other. Currently the most affordable car U.S. consumers can buy on the market is the Mitsubishi Mirage. It has a fuel economy of 36 mpg in the city and 43 mpg on the highway, making it the most fuel-efficient all-gasoline engine model currently available…for now.
We don’t know what all of this means for the supposed new BEV from Nissan and Mitsubishi. According to Mitsubishi chief executive Takao Kato, the project is still an idea the two are playing with, but nothing serious just yet. Bit of a bummer, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any new entries coming to the Mitsubishi Motors North American lineup. After the automaker invested in Ampere, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance announced a new medium SUV will be released for Mitsubishi. Since Ampere is an all-electric model facility, we can safely say at least one new BEV is on the way.
The other model Nissan and Mitsubishi are working on is a new pickup truck, also set for release in the states. If it’s anything like the Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck overseas, we can’t wait. We’ve been talking about Mitsubishi entering the pickup truck market in the U.S. for years now, especially if they were to enter the midsize pickup truck market. With very few models in this niche, it’s prime pickings for an automaker getting a lot of attention from U.S. consumers.
Want to learn more about new models coming from Mitsubishi Motors? Follow along with us on University Mitsubishi social media. You can also buy a new Mitsubishi Mirage at University Mitsubishi before they’re all gone.
