- Mitsubishi has confirmed to sellers that it’ll launch a brand new EV in 2026.
- The mannequin will probably be twinned with the electrical crossover with which Nissan desires to switch the Leaf.
- It will likely be constructed on the identical platform at the moment underpinning the Nissan Ariya and two Renault EVs.
Mitsubishi is working by itself model of the electrical crossover that may substitute the Nissan Leaf, based on a brand new report from Automotive Information. Just like the Leaf’s high-riding do-over, the brand new Mitsubishi EV will probably be a coupe crossover with a sloping roof and each will probably be constructed on the identical AmpR Medium (previously CMF-EV) platform because the Nissan Ariya, which additionally underpins the Renault Megane and Scenic E-Tech fashions.
The Nissan mannequin (previewed by the 2021 Chill-Out idea) will arrive first, and we must always see it in manufacturing garments earlier than the top of the 12 months, based on Automotive Information. The Mitsubishi EV will arrive in 2026. That’s additionally when it’s anticipated to go on sale within the U.S. Mitsubishi has thus far solely supplied one EV right here, the i-Miev, which bought simply over 2,000 models between 2011 and 2016.
Mitsubishi expects a lot increased gross sales with the brand new mannequin, which will probably be manufactured in Japan and exported globally. Nevertheless, plans for the mannequin might be affected by the Nissan-Honda merger, which Mitsubishi is contemplating opting out of, probably fearing that its voice gained’t matter in a gaggle the place the shot callers are Nissan and Honda.
Even when it stays out of the merger, Mitsubishi will nonetheless stay linked to Nissan, persevering with the change of platforms and know-how. In 2023, Mitsubishi introduced its aim to promote 50% electrical or electrified automobiles by 2030, aiming to get that as much as 100% by 2035. Its plan included launching 9 new electrified fashions by 2028, together with two totally electrical fashions made on widespread Alliance platforms, one in-house-developed two-row electrical SUV and an electrical truck.
The upcoming midsize electrical pickup will probably be a collaborative effort between Nissan and Mitsubishi and will probably be manufactured in Mexico. The EV truck can have a Nissan twin, introduced by the futuristic-looking Surf-Out idea. Mitsubishi hasn’t proven any electrical pickup design research lately, however you may get an thought of what it might be like by the brand new Mitsubishi L200 / Triton launched final 12 months.
Automotive Information quotes Mitsubishi Motors North America CEO Mark Chaffin as saying the model “is at a pivotal level in North America, charting a daring, clear and attainable plan for our future success in the USA.”
With the Mirage (which accounted for over 30% of Mitsubishi’s whole gross sales within the U.S. in 2024) discontinued, there’s room for a brand new small and inexpensive automobile in its lineup. Mitsubishi may use a mannequin constructed on the Alliance’s CMF-B EV platform, at the moment used as the idea for the Renault 4 and 5 E-Tech, the upcoming Twingo E-Tech and an electrical Nissan Micra. Nevertheless, there are at the moment no identified plans for such a mannequin.
Mitsubishi did launch a small electrical metropolis automobile, the eK X EV, however that’s a tall, slender and boxy kei automobile that’s primarily aimed on the Japanese market. You possibly can take a look at it as a direct successor to the i-Miev, however that didn’t promote nicely within the U.S. over a decade in the past, and its modern-day equal would additionally probably battle to search out consumers right here.
The Nissan equal of the Mitsubishi upcoming crossover will probably look rather a lot just like the Ariya however in a smaller kind issue. One camouflaged prototype was lately noticed present process testing in California and its define seems just like the Ariya however a bit decrease and sportier than its larger brother.
