2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor Ls Sport Utility 4-door 3.8l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mitsubishi Evolution nameplate evolves into an electric SUV

Let's imagine a Mitsubishi enthusiast awakens after having slept a decade. At first he isn't alarmed at all, since the Lancer he last saw before taking a long nap still looks the same. The Galant is long gone, but that doesn't bother him much. The first shock he experiences is when he realizes the Eclipse name has been reserved for a 2018 crossover — so would it be best not to tell him the vaunted Evolution nameplate will be used in an electric SUV? That's the plan according to Mitsubishi, as the carmaker announced it will show its e-Evolution Concept at the 45 th Tokyo Motor Show next month. Mitsubishi speaks of a watershed moment taking place at the show, as it "will wave the flag under new circumstances to usher a new era of longterm growth and sustainable development, returning to where it belongs to better embrace the future." In short, electric SUVs. According to Mitsubishi, the e-Evolution is a preview for a "low-slung aerodynamic SUV Coupe," and it will be a high-performance, all-wheel-drive vehicle with electric power. Of course, the very name Evolution stands for continuously evolving vehicles, so a change of approach from turbocharging winged Lancers isn't that ill-advised. The included photo was distributed under the file name "1st Teaser," so perhaps we will see more photos as the showtime gets nearer. Related Video:

Mitsubishi has 6 all-new models in the works, plus 5 redesigns

Mitsubishi has revealed its plans for the next three years, and they're all focused on expansion. The company wants to improve unit sales and revenue by 30 percent, which would have it selling 1.3 million cars worldwide. It also plans to improve profit margins from 0.3 percent to 6 percent. This will entail an investment of nearly $5.3 billion. To do this, the company will work on reducing development and manufacturing costs and concentrating on improving in existing markets. But the most interesting part for consumers and enthusiasts: its expanding product plans. Mitsubishi says it will have 11 new model launches over the three-year expansion period. Of these models, six of them are completely new, and the other five will be significant updates and redesigns of existing models. Two of the new vehicles have been shown already including the Eclipse Cross, a compact crossover we'll get in America, and the Xpander (shown below), a minivan-type thing that won't come to the States. The addition of redesigned and new models should be great news for Mitsubishi dealers, especially in America where the company only offers two flavors of aging Outlander, and the bargain-basement Mirage. Fans of Mitsubishi cars might not have much to be excited for, though, since the company says it will be focusing on SUVs and trucks. In fact, it expects that its five best-selling models and 70 percent of its sales will be SUVs, trucks, and plug-in hybrids. If we had to guess what the next four Mitsubishi models could be, we imagine that at least one of them will be some type of full-size crossover. Something sized similarly to the foreign-market Pajero SUV, but designed for pavement pounding. This would especially make sense given other companies entering that space such as VW with the Atlas, and Subaru with its Ascent. As for the three other slots, it's harder to guess. The future Outlander will grow, and the Outlander Sport will shrink, so Mitsubishi will have its midsize and subcompact bases covered, and with a hypothetical full-size crossover, it would have a full line. Those three other slots could be cars, or perhaps specialty crossovers, maybe even a sporty one based on the e-Evolution. But they could also be vehicles aimed at other regions in segments that don't really exist in the U.S. For instance, they could include new microcars for Japan's Kei class of vehicles, or possibly ultra-bare bones, low-cost compacts for Southeast Asia, India and China. Related Video:

Mitsubishi boss confirms new Mirage for US; i EV enduring dismal sales

By March, Mitsubishi expects to have sold just 55,000 cars in the US this fiscal year. That's a tiny sum - by comparison, Honda has sold over 276,000 Civic models thus far this year - and that's just one vehicle, not an entire brand. Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko recognizes this is not a tenable position, and he's hoping the company will shift 80,000 units next fiscal year. Warding off speculation, Masuko has repeatedly stated that his company will not retreat from the US market like competitor Suzuki.
We reported on one part of Masuko's plan, the updated Outlander, and now he has confirmed that the small Mirage will be sold in the US beginning next September. The cut-price hatchback is selling well enough that Mitsu's Thailand plant is at its full capacity of 150,000 cars. "And even at that level it's not keeping up with orders," Masuko tells Automotive News. Masuko went on to say the plant would be expanded next year to handle an extra 50,000 units. We can also expect the Outlander plug-in early 2014.