The head of Mitsubishi Motors has suggested the Japanese brand will “take the lead” on development of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s next-generation bakkies, shooting down talk that the next Triton will be based on the Navara (which itself already provides its platform to the Renault Alaskan and Mercedes-Benz X-Class).
Back in October 2016, Nissan completed its acquisition of a 34 percent equity stake in Mitsubishi to became its largest shareholder and draw it into the global alliance headed by Carlos Ghosn, who soon thereafter said Nissan and Mitsubishi would collaborate to become a global “powerhouse” in the increasingly important bakkie segment.
But, speaking to Drive, Mitsubishi chief operating officer Trevor Mann suggested Mitsubishi rather than Nissan would lead the development of upcoming ladder-chassis products (such as the recently refreshed Triton bakkie and the Pajero Sport).
“When we look at the job shares between the Alliance [members] from a development point of view going forward, it’s indicated that we would take the lead, if you like, on frame development and PHEV [plug-in hybrid vehicle] development, because that’s our know-how,” Mann told the Australian publication.
“Now obviously Nissan also has a level of 4×4 capability. But I think what we have with our 4×4 capability in terms of our super all-wheel-control, that defines our brand.”
Mann added the three brands would be “converging on platforms”.
“The first platform we will be converging on is called CMF-C, which means that the next Outlander will be on the same platform as the Nissan equivalent and Renault equivalent platforms.
“Everything that the customer sees, feels, experiences and touches will be Mitsubishi. So that’s the way we are going – those platforms will be jointly developed.
“The company that has the best expertise of a certain category will take the lead on that, which is why I intimated that we would be the potential leader for a frame platform or commercial platform,” Mann explained.
