Mitsubishi Express to return

Mitsubishi Australia will be one of the first recipients of platform sharing between the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance when it introduces a new light commercial van based on the next-generation Renault Trafic.

The new van, which will replace the Mitsubishi Express last sold here in 2013, will arrive in 2020. It will be built in France by Renault for Mitsubishi in Australia and New Zealand only.

Speaking to carsales.com.au at the 2019 Mitsubishi Triton launch in Bangkok today, Mitsubishi COO Trevor Mann confirmed the deal with Renault to build a rebadged model specifically for Oz and NZ.

“Just after Mitsubishi Motors joined the Renault-Nissan alliance, it was a strong request actually from the local team in Australia to have more of an LCV offering.

“Renault, one of our Alliance partners, is obviously especially strong with vans, which are also on sale in Australia. It was the obvious request.

“We made the request with Renault and we signed a letter of intent and so we fully intend to do this. We know the van, we know it will be based on the Trafic. It will be manufactured in Sandouville in France and will come to Australia as soon as we can dot the Is and cross the Ts.”

Mann said the born-again Mitsubishi Express would build on the strengths of the Renault Trafic and dismissed potential consumer concerns about ‘badge engineering’ in the van market.

“I’m not a huge fan of cross-batching, but on LCVs it doesn’t matter so much, and the LCV industry is full of cross-batches because you don’t necessarily buy the van because of the badge, you buy it because of the servicing you get with the dealer.”

Mitsubishi’s Australian public relations manager Karl Gehling confirmed the company is aiming to have the new van in local showrooms by 2020, with naming yet to be decided.

The Mitsubishi Express was sold in Australia from the second-generation model in 1980. The second-generation model, first introduced in 1986, was pulled from the market in 2013 due to poor crash safety results.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn, accompanied by French president Emmanuel Macron (both pictured here), announced new van production for its French manufacturing facilities in both Sandouville and Maubeuge yesterday in France.

While the reborn Mitsubishi Express and new Renault Trafic will be made at Sandouville, Maubeuge will make small vans including the next Renault Kangoo, new Nissan NV250 and the replacement for the Mercedes-Benz Citan.

As part of its current business plan, Alliance 2022, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi aims to double annual synergies to €10 billion by accelerating collaboration on common platforms and common production facilities.