Ken Gratton•22 Nov 2013
NEWS
TOKYO MOTOR SHOW: Lancer replacement delayed
Mitsubishi will build next C-segment sedan on Renault-Nissan's CMF architecture, but when?Make no mistake, Mitsubishi needs a new Lancer. The current model now dates back to 2007 and is being overtaken by the rest of the market as new rivals are launched.
But the manufacturer has pooled its engineering and design resource in the short term for the development of new Triton, ASX, Pajero and Challenger. The task of developing a new ('C segment') small car for global markets has assumed a lower priority, and cost-cutting measures will compel the company to base a new model Lancer on a platform provided by the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
For the present, Mitsubishi's Head of Product Projects and Strategy, Ryugo Nakao, sees a more immediate need for a mid-sized sedan the company can sell in North America. That doesn't mean the Lancer will be left to rot, however.
"We are also discussing this with Renault, although we haven't decided anything yet," Nakao-san told Australian journalists through an interpreter.
"We have to consider what we are going to launch for the C-segment sedan, which is part of further discussion to be taken."
The new D-segment sedan is first cab off the rank because that's the car Mitsubishi needs to compete effectively in North America. In Australia, however, a rival to Camry and Mazda6 is less important than a new Lancer; the small car market here being where the action is.
As we reported previously, Mitsubishi Australia is evaluating the Mirage-based Attrage sedan for launch here. With its longer wheelbase, the light sedan could step into the void left by the lack of a new Lancer – although the current model Lancer would naturally remain on sale anyway. In this regard, Mitsubishi would be following the course set by Honda, with its City, and Hyundai with the Accent; both light sedans that offer the roominess of a small car.
The problem there is that neither the City nor the Accent sedan sell in anything like the numbers posted by their slightly larger Civic and Elantra counterparts.
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Written byKen Gratton
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