Category: Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi has confirmed that it is currently developing a city car set to compete with the Toyota iQ.

The Japanese carmaker has confirmed the rumour about a future small city model. In order to rely on its expertise, the carmaker will build the car according to the Kei car standards. In Japan, this special category has fiscal incentives, but must respect some strict standards. Length must be less than 133in, width less than 58in and engine displacement must be less than 660cc. Output power must also be less than 63bhp. However, for the European markets, the car will be powered by the same 1.0-litre petrol engine as the Smart ForTwo.

The car will be a rear-engined and rear-wheel drive model. The architecture is similar to that of the i model. In the previous post, we explained how the idea to build a global city car complying with Kei cars standards was a really bad idea. Compared to an iQ or a ForTwo, a Kei car won’t be innovative enough. However, a competitive price might be a major asset. Innovative small cars or exported Kei cars? Market will deicide the outlook.

Mitsubishi has announced announced that it will close its Australian factory at the end of April. The last Australian built Mitsubishi was auctioned for £47,000.

The last Australian built is a silver platinum 380 model which was auctioned last week. The winner is John Hughes who bought the last saloon for £48,000. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to charities.

The 380 model was a saloon launched in 2005 which shared its underpinnings with the Mitsubishi Galant and Endeavor. A front-wheel drive, the 380 was powered by a 235bhp 3.8-litre V6 petrol engine hooked up to either five speed-manual gearbox or a five-speed sequential automatic gearbox. When the 380 went on sale, it sold in lesser numbers than expected and Mitsubishi announced that voluntary redundancies would be offered to 250 production employees in January 2006. In March 2006, the plant closed for three weeks.

Mitsubishi has announced that it is currently working on a low cost model expected to be launched by 2010.

Mitsubishi is the latest carmaker to join the budget car battle by announcing its intention to sell its new model in 2010. While other carmakers have generally developed a new platform or used an all platform to build compact models, Mitsubishi is taking a different path which might also be riskier.

In order to cut cost, the Japanese carmaker plans to reuse a platform used to build the famous Kei car. Mainly available in Japan, those small vehicles are powered by a 660cc petrol engine. When exported, they come with a bigger engine. For its low cost model, it would likely be a 1.0-litre engine.

"The mini vehicle business in a sense is a weakness because they are only sold in Japan, but we can turn this into a strength by building a global car using the platform," company’s president Osamu Masuko said.
The car is rumoured to cost below 1 million yen/£4,800. At first glance, Mitsubishi’s project looks a bit clumsy. Indeed, the carmaker already offers the small Minica (pictured) for ¥765,450/£3,750 on the Japanese market. In the UK, the Peruoda Kelisa costs £4,812 while a proper Hyundai i10 only costs £6,495. In emerging markets, the famous Logan doesn’t ease Mitsubishi’s situation. In Romania, the entry level Logan only costs £5,100 and is much bigger and roomier than any Kei car Mitsubishi offers.

By taking the easy path, Mitsubishi might meets failure.

Hit by the new Congestion Charge scheme, Mitsubishi has launched a greener L200 often used by builders in London.

Mitsubishi has announced that the new L200’s manual transmission variants will come with a 225 g/km CO2 emissions rating, placing them in the lower Congestion Charge band and saving drivers £17 per trip in London.

Jim Tyrrell, Mitsubishi’s Managing Director, said that “the vast majority of our customers run a 4×4 for a specific purpose – not simply as a fashion item. We have worked hard to reduce the emissions levels wherever we can to help minimise any negative financial impact on the thousands of businesses that have chosen to use our pick-ups.”

The Japanese carmaker had no other choice than working on the problem. Otherwise, Mitsubishi would have lost a large number of potential customers.

The Mitsubishi Outlander will be equipped with the in-house twin clutch SST which appeared on the Lancer Evolution X.

The Outlander will be the first SUV to feature a twin clutch transmission when Mitsubishi unveils it at the next Paris Motor Show. The SST will be available with the 2.2 DiD diesel engine and will go on sale in the first quarter of next year.

The SST transmission had been featured on the Concept-cX seen at Frankfurt last year. PSA Peugeot Citroen crossovers, derived from the Outlander, might also feature the twin clutch transmission although it is likely that Mitsubishi will reserve the transmission to its SUV.

Mitsubishi has announced it will unveil the Prototype-S at the next Geneva Motor Show. Derived from the Lancer, the concept car will take the of a hatchback intended to go on sale on the European market in the future.

Despite being labelled as a concept car, the Prototype-S will be very close to the production model. Like the saloon, the hatchback takes its styling cues from the 2005 Concept-Sportback show car. Although the launch remains unknown, it is certain that a Lancer hatchback would help Mitsubishi to revamp its brand image on the European market.

Under the bonnet, the Prototype-S comes with a 237bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine which is hooked up to the in-house automated manual transmission Twin Clutch SST.

The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart is the company’s serious attempt to take on the recently launched Subaru WRX. On the menu 236bhp and twin clutch transmission.

The sporty version will be available with a choice of two bodies, the current saloon and the hatchback due to be unveiled at the next Geneva Motor Show. Some observers think the saloon will be intended for the US marker while Europe will get the hatchback. Sharing components with the Evo X, the Ralliart will feature the Mitsubishi’s all-wheel drive system with Active Yaw Control and Active Centre Differential.

Exact spec remains unknown but the car will sport a Ralliart radiator grille and will feature an aluminium bonnet panel, Recaro front seats, and sports steering wheel with paddle shift. Pricing should be close to the Subaru Impreza and VW Golf R32

Source: Autoblog