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Mitsubishi says the Pajero is its backbone.
Mitsubishi says it doesn’t focus on sports cars because Aussies prefer Toyotas.
And excitement, at least in the traditional motoring sense of the word, does not seem to be on the Mitsubishi agenda in the immediate future. Speaking at the Tokyo motor show, Mitsubishi head of product planning, Gayu Uesegi, said the company did not have the resources of ‘a Toyota’ to develop niche sportscars.
When asked why Mitsubishi – which once made the Starion and the 3000GT -- is not offering a hybrid sportscar like Honda’s new CR-Z or a conventional sports coupe like the new Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ joint venture cars, Uesegi light-heartedly blamed Australians.
“Regarding sportscars, we have made those types of cars but Australians purchased Toyotas, that’s why haven’t focused on those cars,” he grinned. “We need to compete in the world and focus on certain cars and Australia gave us the answer, right? I have many friends in Australia who say Mitsubishi Pajero and Triton are very good, and that’s why we focus on 4X4 vehicles and SUVs and we will keep focusing on them in the future.”
On the question of why Mitsubishi doesn’t build a coupe version of the Lancer Evo, for example, Uesegi said it was more important to focus on a “saloon-type Lancer because they are popular in Australia” and stressed the importance of fuel efficiency saying, “you can never forget that energy efficiency is necessary for all categories, including sportscars.”
One car that is guaranteed a long life at Mitsubishi is Pajero. “I think about Pajero every day, even before going to bed, because once we lose Pajero there is no Mitsubishi,” Uesegi stressed. “Unfortunately, I cannot talk about specific ideas [for the future] at this moment (but) Mitsubishi is Pajero, Pajero is Mitsubishi.”
