Mitsubishi News: Mitsubishi Motors CEO Says A Sedan and Truck Are Possible For U.S.

[William Maley]

Mitsubishi's lineup in the U.S. is very thin, but that will change soon as the Japanese automaker introduces the new Eclipse Cross and Outlander PHEV crossovers. This is part of an effort to boost sales 30 percent for the U.S. by 2020. While the focus for the U.S. will be on crossovers, Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko hinted that other products could be in the pipeline if they leverage their alliance with Nissan-Renault.

In an interview with Automotive News, Masuko said the opportunity to launch new products will come after 2020. This is when Mitsubishi is expected to share powertrains and platforms with Nissan-Renault. One of those new products could be a sedan.

"But we don't have plans to develop a sedan on our own. It wouldn't be just a rebadge. The design will be completely different. We would like to clearly differentiate our models and show the special characteristics of each company," said Masuko.

We're wondering if this sedan could be the replacement for the aging Lancer compact or discontinued Galant sedan. Masuko said there are no concrete plans at this time for the sedan.

Automotive News followed this up by asking if there is the possibility of a pickup truck for the U.S.

"The pickups we make are not so big. But the American market requires big-size pickup trucks," said Masuko.

"We are focused on developing pickups for non-U.S. markets such as [Southeast Asia] and the Middle East. So for the U.S., if there is an opportunity, we might get it from Nissan. We would like to consider if there are opportunities from within the Alliance."

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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[Drew Dowdell]

A truck I can see.... but a sedan?  Now?  Why?

[David]

Skip the Sedan for the next 5-8 years, focus on CUV's and EV's and yes get the Truck into the Market Stat!

[regfootball]

if they did one sedan it may be good.  my guess is they are developing a lancer replacement for global use and probably just want to sell it here.  i would argue it makes more sense to sell a Galant replacement in the US.  But sales wise for Mitsubishi it is probably easier to sell the Lancer size here in the US.

TBH, i want to see a bunch of the Japanese brands go bye bye.  I wouldn't miss a beat if Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi went bye tomorrow.  Nissan too.  No love for Subaru either really.  Reality is in the US we'll still have Toyota Honda Nissan and Subaru for a long time.  To me, Mazda has nothing here anymore.  So if it went out tomorrow I could care less.

 

[Scout]

1 hour ago, regfootball said:

if they did one sedan it may be good.  my guess is they are developing a lancer replacement for global use and probably just want to sell it here.  i would argue it makes more sense to sell a Galant replacement in the US.  But sales wise for Mitsubishi it is probably easier to sell the Lancer size here in the US.

TBH, i want to see a bunch of the Japanese brands go bye bye.  I wouldn't miss a beat if Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi went bye tomorrow.  Nissan too.  No love for Subaru either really.  Reality is in the US we'll still have Toyota Honda Nissan and Subaru for a long time.  To me, Mazda has nothing here anymore.  So if it went out tomorrow I could care less.

 

Say what you want about the imports but I think you would miss them if they were gone. How long do you think it would take for the remaining offerings to become stale with no competition?

[daves87rs]

6 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

A truck I can see.... but a sedan?  Now?  Why?

Still not even sure about the truck part...

Heck no on the sedan....