Why has the 2022 Mitsubishi Mirage all of a sudden become popular?

Mitsubishi’s Mirage micro car might not be long for this world, but that hasn’t stopped the Kia Picanto rival from surging in interest in 2022.

January’s VFACTS figure reveal that Mitsubishi sold 259 Mirages last month, a 362.5 per cent increase over the same month last year, and nearly five times more than the Fiat 500 and Abarth 595 (54 sales combined).

Though the Mirage still trails the dominate Kia, who sold 572 Picantos last month for a commanding 64.6 per cent share of the market, Mitsubishi is capitalising on readily available stock and the fact that the market has pushed up in pricing.

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Speaking with CarsGuide, a Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) spokesperson said extra stock of the Mirage was prioritised for 2022 after the car was discontinued for fouling new ADR 85 regulations.

“With the ADR change in September 2021, MMAL ordered sufficient Mirage volume to support ongoing supply into 2022,” they said.

“Being the last batch of Australian-bound Mirages, these volumes were prioritised via MMC, which minimised any supply-side issues.

“These arrivals are flowing quickly to dealers, who are taking advantage of having stock available for immediate delivery in a supply-constrained environment (and segment).”

Last month was actually the sixth consecutive month the Mirage enjoyed triple-digit growth compared to its performance the prior year, likely brought on by the aforementioned ADR changes.

The Mitsubishi Mirage is also one of the most affordable new models available in Australia, kicking off with the manual ES grade for $14,990 before on-road costs, or $17,490 drive-away.

For comparison, the cheapest version of the Fiat 500 is positioned at $19,550 before on-road costs, while the most affordable Picanto is $15,990 ($18,490 drive-away).

Though Toyota, Mazda and Honda do not field a competitor in the micro car class, the aforementioned brands – as well as many others – have in recent years steadily increased pricing for some of its cheapest models due to a number of factors.

Some increases in the last few years are due to unfavourable currency fluctuations that generally creep prices up by a few hundred dollars, while in other instances, the inclusion of more advanced standard safety systems – like in the case of now $23,740 Toyota Yaris and $23,190 Mazda2 – has simply added to costs.

Mitsubishi’s sixth-generation Mirage has been in production since 2012, and is the Australian division’s last remaining passenger vehicle after the discontinuation of the Lancer in 2017.

It is expected that Mitsubishi Australia will have enough Mirage stock to see it through most of 2022 before the nameplate is retired from showrooms.