Photo: Mitsubishi
Mirage, Attrage, Space Star. Whatever you want to call it, Mitsubishi’s smallest car doesn’t cut the mustard. Ever since the current generation went on sale in 2012, the Japanese automaker struggled to find buyers for the city dweller, and this can’t go on forever. Now that it’s a part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Mitsubishi looks to its partners to develop the next-generation model.
On the sidelines of the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, the corporate vice-president and product planning head made it clear that designing the all-new Mirage on its own isn’t feasible from a financial standpoint. Speaking to Auto Express, Vincent Cobee said: “Designing and building a bespoke platform is expensive, and the margins in the small car sector are smaller. So are we looking to use Renault and Nissan platforms in that segment?” The answer is not a mystery.
Cobee confirmed that Mitsubishi’s synergies with Renault-Nissan will be put to use for the next Mirage, and it isn’t all too surprising to guess that platform he’s referring to. The Clio rides on the B platform while the Micra employs the second-generation vehicle architecture, renamed to V platform. Front-wheel-drive by nature and capable of accommodating three- and four-cylinder engines, the V won't serve as the building block for the next Mirage.
You see, Renault prepares to usher in an all-new Clio in 2018, riding on an all-new platform called CMF-B. To this effect, Auto Express believes the next-generation Mitsubishi Mirage will skip the V platform for the CMF-B, which makes sense considering the three-prong alliance intends to divide research and development costs as much as possible.
The Mitsubishi Mirage is further confirmed to receive an all-electric variant, which falls in line with the alliance’s plan to roll out the CMF-EV platform for electric vehicles. By 2020, approximately 70 percent of the Franco-Japanese supergroup’s models will fall within the CMF scope. All in all, “economies of scale” is the name of the game for Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi in the nearest of futures.
Cobee confirmed that Mitsubishi’s synergies with Renault-Nissan will be put to use for the next Mirage, and it isn’t all too surprising to guess that platform he’s referring to. The Clio rides on the B platform while the Micra employs the second-generation vehicle architecture, renamed to V platform. Front-wheel-drive by nature and capable of accommodating three- and four-cylinder engines, the V won't serve as the building block for the next Mirage.
You see, Renault prepares to usher in an all-new Clio in 2018, riding on an all-new platform called CMF-B. To this effect, Auto Express believes the next-generation Mitsubishi Mirage will skip the V platform for the CMF-B, which makes sense considering the three-prong alliance intends to divide research and development costs as much as possible.
The Mitsubishi Mirage is further confirmed to receive an all-electric variant, which falls in line with the alliance’s plan to roll out the CMF-EV platform for electric vehicles. By 2020, approximately 70 percent of the Franco-Japanese supergroup’s models will fall within the CMF scope. All in all, “economies of scale” is the name of the game for Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi in the nearest of futures.
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