Mitsubishi To Spearhead U.S. Revival With Outlander, Mirage
Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko re-affirmed his company’s commitment to the American marketplace, despite seeing most of its product line eliminated, and the flagship i electric car fail miserably. Despite these Job-like setbacks, Mitsubishi will release more new product in 2013, including a plug-in hybrid SUV and an all-new A/B segment car.
Despite sales projections of 20,000 units annually, Automotive News is reporting that Mitsubishi has sold less than 500 examples of the i through October, and plans for a successor are now dead. Where Mitsubishi will hit back is with plug-in cars and what Masuko calls “attractive products” that will motivate dealers to invest in upgrading their facilities.
The Outlander will hit showrooms in July, followed by the tiny, three-cylinder Mirage hatchback in September. A plug-in Outlander will go on sale in early 2014. Mitsubishi is also planning to increase capacity at their Illinois plant from 50,000 to 70,000 units a year, largely for exporting vehicles to world markets. While Masuko is looking to double sales to 100,000 units in America by 2014, Mitsubishi has a long way to go. As it stands now, only Suzuki cars sell worse among Japanese brands, and they won’t be around much longer.
More by Derek Kreindler
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Mitsubishi cars may stay here since the Parent Company will want to save face. But, anyone thinking they will ever make a comeback to the "good ol' DSM days" is dreaming.
It probably won't sell too well over here, but the new Mirage sounds like a nice, cheap and cheerful runabout to me. At 500lbs lighter than NC Miata, it might even be fun to drive, and the mileage is quite good for a non-hybrid. I'm curious about the projected price, considering the car sells for almost exactly half the price of base Galant Fortis (aka Lancer) back home. It's a B-segment car you can buy for a Kei car price.
Forget the stupid plug-in cars and the three-cylinder runabouts, Mitsubishi needs an icon. It needs to go for broke. It needs something that defines this generation, that has the practicality and economical factor to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the dealership, and whose fame will outlast the drivers. Now how hard is that? :P
The finest piece of junk car I have ever owned is a 1995 Mirage S Coupe. If the new one is cheap and half as well-built as my aged friend, I'm in for one.