Confirming a previous report that Mitsubishi was extending its partnership with Nissan (and Renault) in order to create more common models gets additional confirmation from Australia, via Motoring.
It quotes the words of the company’s Head of Product Projects and Strategy, Ryugo Nakao, who says the immediate priority is not the C-Segment Lancer replacement, but rather a larger D-segment sedan to go up against the Mazda6, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord and VW Passat.
Currently, the talks stand far away from having reached a conclusion, but the larger sedan is deemed as being considerably more important for the US market, while the smaller car would have greater relevance in Australia and other markets that share its buyers preferences.
Mitsubishi clearly doesn’t want to pull a Suzuki and call it quits in the US, despite it sometimes looking that way, so there’s a very high likelihood of the (probably) Samsung SM5-based Toyota Camry rival to beat the next Lancer into showrooms.
Since it would most likely be based on existing mechanicals, its development won’t take a ridiculous amount of time, primarily because they sometimes give the impression that they may not have a lot of it left…
By Andrei Nedelea
Note: Chinese market Renault Talisman sedan pictured; built by Samsung in Korea too
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