Mitsubishi "looking forward" to new Renault-Nissan era

Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL) believes the news that its parent company will come under the control of the Nissan Renault Alliance is a good one, and will result in a wider range of cars at a better price.

The transaction was finalised last week, with 34 per cent and a majority share of Mitsubishi being sold to the alliance, and one of Nissan Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn’s right-hand men at Nissan, UK-born Trevor Mann, parachuted in to head up Mitsubishi.

MMAL’s executive director of marketing Tony Principe told journalists that the move will only help the local arm of the company grow its fortunes.

“It’ll put us in an even stronger position over the next few years,” he said. “Economies of scale will put us into the top three in the world. Platform sharing, technology sharing, the back end of the business… we will be able to share a lot of the costs and enhance our overall position.”

Principe pointed out that the SUV craze locally also means that a greater ability to share platforms will mean better quality, more affordable Mitsubishis down the track.

Nissan has the Leaf, and Renault has electric vehicles, also. The technologies would all work well together.

“From a consumer point of view, we’ll be able to deliver higher quality and lower cost products and service, and newer technologies should be available more quickly at a lower cost base,” he said.

“When you think of the future and looking at new models, the amortisation of costs over volumes puts us in a pretty good position compared to just about every other player, including Toyota. 

“We’ll be able to share those costs over a much wider volume, and we’ll be able to develop vehicles at a much lower cost base, so we’re in pretty good shape going forward.”

While details are scarce around timings at this early stage, MMAL chief Mutsuhiro Oshikiri told CarsGuide.com.au that there were natural synergies already in play across the group, including group purchasing and finance.

“Look at Outlander and X-Trail, ASX and Qashqai, and of course Triton and Navara,” he said. “Mr Ghosn (Nissan Renault Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn) has already talked about trimming the ‘low hanging fruit’ from our budgets, as well.”

Oshikiri-san also pointed out that Mitsubishi’s experience in the plug-in hybrid sector would be a good fit in the new company.

“Nissan has the Leaf, and Renault has electric vehicles, also,” he said. “The technologies would all work well together.”

A number of MMAL’s current Australian fleet is up for renewal or refresh, including the compact ASX and mid-size X-Trail, as well as the very old Lancer and Pajero.

Company insiders suggested that 2017 would see the debut of the final version of 2014’s XR PHEV Concept, which will become the new ASX.

And while a melding of pick-up platforms is all but inevitable – the one-year-old MQ Triton is all but certain to be underpinned by the now-ubiquitous Navara chassis, while the next Outlander will be built atop the next X-Trail platform – one interesting aside has come from a senior Nissan US official, who suggested that the Patrol and the Pajero could live on.

Between the two could, enough worldwide volume could potentially be created to stave off the end of the Pajero, which has soldiered on in largely the same form for 16 years.

Likewise, the use of Mitsubishi’s DID diesel engines could revive the hopes of an oil-burning Patrol making a comeback. 

The picture is less clear when it comes to hatches and sedans, with both Nissan and Mitsubishi seeing large declines across both sectors. 

There is the possibility that Renault’s newest small car platform that underpins the Megane could serve as a base for future models.

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