Mitsubishi ASX EV gets local tuning

Mitsubishi Australia will launch its first mass-market electric vehicle before the end of 2026, with a hatchback developed alongside Taiwanese manufacturer Foxtron and tuned specifically for Australian and New Zealand conditions.

More details, including final images and specifications, are due in August ahead of first customer deliveries expected before Christmas.

The new EV is based on the Foxtron Model B sold in China and shares its underpinnings with the recently revealed Foxtron Bria in Taiwan, though Mitsubishi Australia says the local version will have its own identity.

“It will be obviously branded Mitsubishi, and we'll have some unique design elements that make it a Mitsubishi,” Mitsubishi Motors Australia General Manager for Product Strategy and Product PR, Bruce Hampel, said.

“The underlying design is by Pininfarina, so it's quite a stylish vehicle.” 

Hampel was equally enthusiastic about the electric hatch’s performance credentials.

“The performance element is outstanding. I spent years trying to deliver a five-second Falcon, and it seems like every EV out there, like a family EV, can do five seconds.”

In Taiwan, the Bria’s flagship dual-motor variant produces 299kW and claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.9 seconds, though Australian specifications remain unconfirmed.

Beyond straight-line speed, Mitsubishi says significant effort has gone into local ride and handling evaluation.

Foxtron has conducted extensive testing in Australia, including at Victoria’s Lang Lang proving ground, with Hampel blunt about the conditions involved.

“Foxtron has spent a lot of time down here on our sh*tty roads,” he said.

He stressed that Foxtron retains responsibility for the vehicle’s engineering outcome and that “...we haven't had any direct influence on the product”.

However, Hampel added that the company has responded well to local feedback and that “...we're confident they've done all the necessary steps to really understand and make this vehicle well tailored for our conditions.”

Not all Chinese-developed vehicles arrive with polished local dynamics, though brands such as GWM have increasingly invested in Australian tuning programs to improve ride and handling.

Hampel believes buyers will notice the difference.

“We've been super impressed with them – how they've really listened to the feedback we've given them in some of the evaluation tests we've done jointly with MMC [Mitsubishi Motors Corporation] and Foxtron.”

Trademark filings suggest the hatchback could revive the ASX nameplate, potentially as the ASX GT-e or ASX VR-e.

The latter would resurrect a badge previously used on performance-focused Mitsubishi models such as the Galant VR and GTO. It remains unclear whether the two names will denote separate single- and dual-motor variants.

For Mitsubishi Australia, the new EV also represents a broader test of local appetite for battery-electric vehicles.

Hampel admitted the company is cautious about pushing too aggressively into EVs before consumer demand strengthens.

“It's hard to force product into customers that don't necessarily want it,” he said.

“Before we go too far into full BEVs, we just really want to make sure that this is something [that is sustainable].”

He also acknowledged the growing number of brands competing for limited EV sales volume in Australia.

“The size of the pie hasn't gotten any bigger in Australia, but there's a lot more different people taking a slice of that pie,” Hampel said.

“It's very difficult to come up with a profitable business equation with very limited volume.”

Mitsubishi was one of the first brands to launch an EV locally with the i-MiEV in 2009, though Hampel conceded the market was not ready at the time.

“We were the first with an EV in Australia, the MiEV, back in 2009, but way ahead of its time. The country wasn't ready then.”

Whether Foxtron becomes a long-term development partner for Mitsubishi in Australia will depend largely on how buyers respond to this first model.

“Potentially,” Hampel said, when asked if the relationship could expand further.

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