Nissan questions Mitsubishi's 'lead role' in next ute

Mitsubishi's recent claim that it would lead development of the next-generation Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance ute has raised eyebrows within the Nissan camp.

Earlier this month in Bangkok, at the international media launch of the facelifted Triton, there was a certain confidence in the claim made by Mitsubishi global chief Trevor Mann that Mitsubishi would play the starring role in the development of its next-generation one-tonne ute, which will serve as the basis for Nissan's next Navara and Renault's next Alaskan.

"Obviously Nissan also has a level of 4×4 capability, but what we have with our 4×4 ability in terms of Super All Wheel Control, that defines our brand and that's the brand differentiator as far as we're concerned," Mann said in Thailand.

"Everything that the customer sees, touches, experiences [and] feels will be Mitsubishi."

However, at a recent Nissan 4x4 LCV media drive in Morocco, where the brand showcased the capabilities of its off-road-focussed Navara AT32, Navara-based Terra SUV, Patrol four-wheel drive and Titan full-size pick-up, the brand's Chief Product Specialist for frame-based SUVs and pick-ups, Pedro Deanda (pictured), wasted no time in refuting that claim.

"I'm aware of what Mitsubishi said, they have a reason for saying that, but we said when this Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance was created that we are of course looking to synergies, and we have the plan that eventually when our product cycles align we will share a platform," he said.

"It's a little bit too early. We've just been in a partnership for a year and a half, so again the goal of having a common platform, and maybe not only for the pickup but for other vehicles, that is clear.

"We've said that out loud, but as to which platform could do what? We're still in a very premature stage."

Deanda emphasised it was far too early to indicate what specific role would be played by which brand in producing the shared platform.

"I can't give you too much details but for sure, who will do what, eventually we will be able confirm that," he said.

Recently disgraced Alliance Chairman and CEO, Carlos Ghosn – who on Monday was arrested for failing to fully declare his income and for the misuse of corporate assets – has previously spoken at great length on the synergies the three brands hope to unlock through adopting common architectures.

Speaking in Morocco, Deanda said that despite the common underpinnings, the next-generation pick-up – which realistically isn't expected to arrive until 2022 or thereabouts – will still retain individual styling and character.

"We have different brands, different customers, so the common platform will happen eventually – taking the best of the best, so a more efficient, more capable vehicle – but the rest has to be unique," he said.

"We have to keep our own brand identity, so you will see different vehicles, different cabins, different interiors. Now Alaskan is a little bit different – it's more than the bonnet and the grille, or the back – but there are a lot of similiarities with the Navara."

Deanda said that each brand would inevitably bring its respective core strengths to the table, and especially in their key geographic markets.

"Renault is very strong in Europe and very strong with vans; Nissan is very strong with pickup and very strong in other markets, Asia specifically and South America," he said.

"So Renault is kind of taking the lead on the vans, Nissan with the pickups, but to say that this is a 100 per cent Nissan platform or this is a 100 per cent Renault platform is kind of inaccurate.

"With the passenger vehicles you see you have these common platforms, so we're not calling it one brand or the other. It's a collaboration of both and the best elements of both, then there's an Alliance platform being defined and on top of that come many vehicles of different shapes."

The Alliance, which currently forms the world's largest automotive block with 10.6 million unit sales in 2017, has previously said the addition of Mitsubishi would unlock many billions of yen in savings.

Earlier this month, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi announced it will produce a born-again Mitsubishi Express van for Australia in 2020, based on next Renault Trafic, as part of its Alliance 2022 business plan to “double annual synergies to €10 billion by accelerating collaboration on common platforms and common production facilities”.

Meantime, the combination of Nissan's expertise in battery-electric cars and Mitsubishi's in plug-in hybrids is expected to see the three-brand partnership blaze a trail with those technologies in the face of ever-tightening global emissions regulations.

Ghosn is credited as the driving force behind the Alliance's creation and the subsequent resurrection of the then ailing Nissan brand, when Renault purchased a 36.8 per cent stake in Nissan in 1999.

That stake currently sits at 43.4 per cent, while Nissan holds a 15 per cent stake in Renault and, from 2016, a 34 per cent stake in Mitsubishi.

Together the trio sold vehicles in more than 200 countries last year, across 10 brands spanning Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Dacia, Renault Samsung, Alpine, Lada, Infiniti, Venucia and Datsun.