Opinion: It's a Bleak Future for Mitsubishi Cars in North America
Mitsubishi has an important product debut coming up: the all-new 2022 Outlander three-row crossover. In what will be the fourth-generation Outlander since 2001, the 2022 model ditches Mitsubishi’s ancient GS platform the Outlander has used since 2007 and sees a migration over to the same platform as the Nissan Rogue.
I think this is the beginning of the end for Mitsubishi in North America.
Mitsubishi has seen sales growth here since circa 2013 after the company’s product line was slimmed considerably between 2004 and 2009. With new Nissan blood, the plan is to make Mitsubishi more exciting. The first and most important step is releasing a new version of the “iconic” (their words) model, which will define their new direction. As it stands, the company’s lineup is a bit… short. Take a look:
Mirage
The two Mirages are the same car, and the other three crossovers are all on the GS platform. Once Outlander Sport makes the jump to Nissan architecture, it’s reasonable to believe the others will switch over in short order.
Now based on the teaser image above, and this image of the 2021 Rogue, I’m thinking the all-new Outlander Sport is a clip swap away from the extant 2021 Rogue. Nissan gets a year jump on the sales since it’s the bigger brand donating the platform, and the boss of the operation.
But is there space in the crowded North American market for a relatively niche discount brand with a limited following to sell reworked or rebadged versions of Nissan product? Bearing in mind the monetary situation of both Nissan and Mitsubishi, the overlap seems fairly troublesome. Nissan covers North America with over 1,000 dealers, Mitsubishi has 440. Picture it: A couple years down the road and both brand’s offerings are, in theory, the same underneath. Why pay for two dealership chains to sell and service the same product? Consumers will know their Outlander is a Rogue Sport (or whatever), wearing a worse badge. We’re back to Ford/Mercury and Dodge/Plymouth times in this situation. Would you like the Spirit, or an Acclaim?
I just don’t see it working out domestically in the long-term. The reasonable expectation here is that Mitsubishi fades away and is absorbed into Nissan after its limited crossover offering is filled with four-cylinders and CVTs. The brand might continue its cars elsewhere globally, where it’s more dominant than Nissan in select markets.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but with the new Outlander’s introduction, I think Mitsubishi’s days in North America are numbered. Off to you.
[Images: Mitsubishi, Nissan]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
More by Corey Lewis
Comments
Join the conversation
Why not pull slight deviation on what Chrysler did with Dodge and eventually Ram. Use Nissan for your cars and SUVs, butch up the Mitsubishi brand and use it for trucks and more rugged versions of your SUVs. Mits is dead on its own... None of its products are compelling. They're just cheap. Under the current strategy I see an eventual failure just like the author said.
Back in 2014 I looked into buying a Lancer Ralliart sedan. After some discussion on the Lancer forum the conclusion was that I would be happier with a V8 pony car. That's probably the closest I'll ever get to owning a Mitsubishi.