When Renault developed the CMF-A platform, the first vehicle to get it was the Renault Kwid. Nissan later used the architecture to create the Magnite, a car it sells in India and some other countries. Mitsubishi showed it wants a slice of that market with the XFC concept, a vehicle that will reach some markets in 2023 in its production version. The rendering artist Theottle helped us see what it would look like.
As Mitsubishi revealed, the idea is to sell the XFC in the countries that compose the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nissan could possibly do that with the Magnite, but Mitsubishi must be a strong brand in these markets, perhaps even more than its owner. That said, it makes perfect sense to sell a Mitsubishi product in the A-segment.
The concept presents a reasonably different vehicle, which is a relief when you remember what Mitsubishi did with the ASX in Europe: a lazy badge engineering of the Renault Captur. Hopefully, there will be no such thing with the XFC, even if that is not very likely.
In an ideal world, what Theottle obtained would be the right production version of the XFC. The rendering artist used its images as the skin on a Nissan Magnite, and we can see that some metal panels would have to be modified to accommodate new taillights, the different glasses between the C and D pillars, and the unique headlights.
The relatively small changes would be the best way to make the little car. However, it is supposed to be pretty affordable and present a reduced profit margin. If Mitsubishi wants to make money with it, it will have to sell thousands, if not millions of units. That said, we would not be surprised with a Magnite with a Mitsubishi badge. What may prevent that is that Nissan also sells its A-segment vehicle in Brunei and Indonesia.
The Mitsubishi XFC will also have an electric version, which is not surprising when the CMF-A architecture also underpins the Renault City K-ZE, Dacia Spring, Renault Kwid E-Tech Electric, Venucia e30, and the Dongfeng Aeolus EX1, Fengxing T1, and Fengguang E1. Sadly, XFC will not mean the compact electric crossover has the StoreDot cells with the same name, meaning they present extreme fast-charging capability.
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