Each brand plays to their strengths. This is Mitsubishi’s.
Japanese marque Mitsubishi might still be new within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, but it seems that the newly-minted group has very quickly defined which strengths each brand will play to and how to utilise that for Alliance-wide profitability & advancement. Mitsubishi specifically will take the lead in terms of the development of utes & SUVs it seems, or so was hinted to the media by one of the company’s bosses.
Trevor Mann, Mitsubishi’s COO, said that his company’s unique expertise in ladder-frame construction & off-road capability made them unique within the Alliance, and that expertise would likely be leveraged on by fellow Alliance brands.
“We [Mitsubishi] have our 4x4 expertise, and we have framed vehicle expertise. Obviously Nissan also has a level of 4x4 ability, but I think what we have in terms of Super All-Wheel Control… that defines our brand, and it’s a brand differentiator. It’s not a promise, but if you look at the expertise we have [it makes sense for Mitsubishi to lead ute & SUV development].” — Trevor Mann, Chief Operating Officer, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation
Mitsubishi has had a storied history in rally-cross, and enjoyed immense success with its Triton. With the positioning of the company within the group, it stands to reason that the next-generation of the Nissan Navara & Renault Alaskan may be underpinned by a Mitsubishi Triton platform.
Mann was very quick to reassure that despite the (extensive) parts-sharing within the Alliance (a trademark of Carlos Ghosn’s cost-efficiency measures), every product from every brand will be unique. This was largely to allay concerns raised during the Triton’s international launch in Bangkok that the new ute would be the last ‘fully-Mitsubishi’ Triton.
“Everything the customer sees, touches, feels, will be Mitsubishi. Awe will always be Mitsubishi; The purpose of the Alliance is to ensure we can maximise synergies. Would a next generation of pick-up in the future have a common platform with Renault & Nissan? Yes, it could. But this does not detract from the Mitsubishi-ness in our vehicles.” — Trevor Mann, Chief Executive Officer, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation
The new Triton was launched earlier this week to great fanfare, with MMC gathering hundreds of journalists for the launch in Bangkok to showcase it’s boldly-styled and thoroughly-refined new model. You can read our report on the 2019 Mitsubishi Triton, due to make local landfall in January, here.
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