Mitsubishi Express to return mid-year

The new Mitsubishi Express has been revealed ahead of its Australian release in July, when the Japanese brand will offer a new commercial van here for the first time since 2013.

And if you think think it looks remarkably like a Renault Trafic, don't adjust your contrast settings because the born-again Mitsubishi Express is essentially a rebadged version of the French delivery van.

Save for a three-pointed star up front, there's not a lot of visual differences to the Trafic and both vans are built at the same Sandouville factory in France.

No pricing has been announced yet, but the new Mitsubishi Express will be offered in short- and long-wheelbase variants and all models get dual sliding side doors, glazed rear barn doors and an integrated rear step as standard equipment.

The front-drive load-lugger will be offered with two engine types, a 1.6-litre twin-turbo diesel (103kW/340Nm) and a 2.0-litre single-turbo diesel (125kW/380Nm).

The entry-level 1.6 engine will be paired exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox while a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission will be optional for the 2.0-litre diesel.

Standard equipment confirmed for the Aussie market includes 16-inch steel wheels (and a full-size spare wheel), three front seats with height and lumbar adjustment, a height and reach adjustable steering wheel, retractable centre armrest, Bluetooth connectivity, USB port and lots of storage cubbies.

Mitsubishi Express vans ordered with the automatic transmission come with a reversing camera screen integrated into the cabin's rear-view mirror, while automatic headlights and wipers are also fitted.

Four colours will be offered (white, black, red and platinum grey) and all models get the same 'hard-wearing' black fabric, says Mitsubishi.

As with the Trafic, safety systems include five airbags, cruise control, stability control and hill start assist, but unlike the Toyota HiAce there is no autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

The Mitsubishi Express will face a couple of major challenges in the segment.

Firstly, it needs to be priced within striking distance of the top-selling vans in the segment – Toyota HiAce (from $38,640), Hyundai iLOAD ($39,290), Ford Transit ($42,390) – and it needs to differentiate itself from its sister vehicle, the Renault Trafic (from $32,990).

Given the language used by Mitsubishi Motors Australia CEO, Shaun Westcott, the Express van seems likely to undercut all its mainstream competitors. He stated that "…a strong value proposition will make businesses and fleet managers consider the Express when it comes to building more capability into their business."

With that in mind, pricing could start at around $30,000 for the short-wheelbase model and $35,000 for the long-wheelbase, in order to undercut the circa-$33,000 (SWB) and $37,000 (LWB) Renault Trafic models.

The new van could come with an even longer warranty than Mitsubishi cars (five-year), potentially brining a Triton ute-like promotional seven-year/150,000km warranty – at least to begin with.

"Mitsubishi is known for bringing Australians a range of flexible, dependable and capable vehicles, and the Express retains these Mitsubishi characteristics," said Westcott.

"For customers who need more flexibility, we will offer both short and long wheelbase, our dual sliding doors and a number of accessories to ensure easy configuration of the van for different business requirements," said Westcott.

The 2020 Mitsubishi Express offers 5.2 cubic-metres of cargo space in SWB guise and six cubic-metres in LWB form, and the Japanese brand has confirmed it is working with several suppliers to customise the cargo area.

Also mirroring the Renault Trafic are vehicle weights, towing capacities, gross combination mass (GCM) and gross vehicle mass (GVM), with manual models offering greater values. The limits are listed below:

Express SWB manual: Unladen mass 1810kg, GVM 2960kg, trailer mass 2000kg, GCM 4960kg

Express SWB auto: Unladen mass 1870kg, GVM 2985kg, trailer mass 1715kg, GCM 4700kg

Express LWB manual: Unladen mass 1860kg, GVM 3060kg, trailer mass 2000kg, GCM 5060kg

Express LWB auto: Unladen mass 1920kg, GVM 3070kg, trailer mass 1630kg, GCM 4700kg

During the first three months of 2020, the top sellers in the 2.5-3.5-tonne van category are the Toyota Hiace (1325), Hyundai iLOAD (733) and Ford Transit (506).

The Renault Trafic ranks in fourth place with 363 sales thus far in 2020.