Things are definitely perking up in Thailand where Mitsubishi Motors is concerned. The automaker says it is planning to more than double its production output in the country during the first half of 2012, to 450,000 units annually.

The company’s president Osamu Masuko made this announcement at a press conference in Bangkok late last week, stating that given the concentration of parts manufacturers, Thailand is the most important of its overseas production bases globally.

Mitsubishi’s two plants in Chonburi are to be upgraded, and will offer a combined output of 300,000 units, 50% more than currently, and a new third plant being built will offer a further production volume of 150,000 vehicles annually; the 45 billion yen plant will be responsible for producing the Global Small compact car, beginning next spring.

The Thai production base will also build the Navara pickup for Nissan at a rate of 60,000 units a year, with production to begin once expansion work is completed. All this is set to make the Thai site the company’s second-largest manufacturing centre after its flagship factory in Japan, located in Okayama Prefecture, which churns out 580,000 vehicles a year.

Mitsubishi’s older models aren’t doing very well in the USA, and some will be killed off. Those on death row are the Eclipse, Eclipse Spyder and Endeavor SUV, while the Galant’s future will be decided later, according to Yoichi Yokozawa, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America.

Production will stop in August this year, and the freed capacity at MMNA’s Illinois plant will be taken over by the Outlander Sport (ASX to us) starting next year. MMNA says that it will built 50,000 units of the compact crossover per year at the plant and export around half of that number.

The Eclipse is no stranger to those who have followed the Fast and Furious franchise. The second-gen Eclipse was driven by Paul Walker in the first F&F and in 2 Fast 2 Furious, Tyrese drove a third-gen Eclipse Spyder. The current fourth-gen Eclipse made its debut in 2006. The yellow car you see here sporting a Nissan GT-R style nose is a 2009 model year GT.

The Endeavor is an old school SUV built for the American market. It has never achieved sales targets since launch in 2003, and is not a surprise candidate for the chop, looking out of place among today’s smaller and more fuel efficient crossovers.

Well, it looks like the Lancer Evolution is heading into the history books, at least in its current petrol-based form. Seems Mitsubishi is dropping very broad hints that the Evo X will be the last of its ilk as it prepares for that bold leap towards the electric front.

Mitsubishi says it is considering a different direction for its all-wheel-drive, high-performance sedan, even if a go-fast vehicle is expected to remain very much part of its general programme. Of course, the fire-breathing Mitsu of the future could very well be an electric or a hybrid vehicle.

The company is preparing to launch no less than eight EV or plug-in hybrids worldwide by 2015, and that direction is set to become the main core focus, which leaves very little space for the good old fossil burner, hot and halo as it may be.

The change in perspective is also aided partly by redefined market needs and demands, not to mention having to meet tougher fuel economy and emissions regulations across the planet. The Evo X will continue to soldier on through 2013, but a gas-gulping XI looks to be out of the question.

As the company puts it in a statement, “MMC has kept the Lancer Evolution sedan evolving as the brand’s highest performing model in the global market. However, as the market’s needs and demands change, MMC is considering not advancing the Lancer Evolution concept in the same way as before, but to find a different direction for the Lancer Evolution model to evolve. The new direction, the technologies involved, and corresponding products will be disclosed in due course.”

Mitsubishi has launched the 2011 Triton and Pajero Sport in Thailand with a new VG Turbo engine. It’s essentially still the same 4D56 2.5-litre DI-D Hyper Common Rail diesel unit, but with variable geometry turbo to gain big on power and torque. In Thailand, the new engine is available in all Pajero Sport variants and two Triton models – Double Cab Plus GLS AT and Double Cab 4WD GLS-Limited AT and MT.

In its lower state of tune, the new VG Turbo engine makes 178 PS and 350 Nm of torque from 1,800 to 3,500 rpm, which is a big upgrade from the standard turbo unit’s 140 PS/321 Nm. The Malaysian market Triton makes 136 PS and 314 Nm while the most powerful truck sold here is the Nissan Navara with 174 PS and 403 Nm.

However, if one opts for the Triton 4WD with a manual gearbox, he will get 400 Nm of torque from 2,000-2,850 rpm (power remains at 178 PS). The 4WD auto version of both the Pajero Sport and Triton also get a 5-speed automatic transmission with Sportronic, an upgrade from the standard 4-speed auto.

The introduction of this high powered 2.5-litre engine marks the end of the range topping 3.2-litre lump, in line with Mitsubishi’s policy of increasing efficiency and reducing emissions. The Triton 3.2 makes just 160 PS and 343 Nm, so the new VG Turbo engine sees improvement in all areas.

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia gets both the Triton and Pajero Sport from Thailand, so it’s possible that they may be coming our way in the not too distant future.

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Mitsubishi has released the first images of its Mitsubishi Concept Global Small, which will make its world debut at the Geneva International Motor Show this year in March. A production version of this car will be built at Mitsubishi’s new factory in Thailand, and it is part of the Thai eco car program.

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A brief list of the car’s features included in the press release reveals it will come with compact engines ranging from 1.0 litre to 1.2 litre in size, a regenerative braking system, an automatic idle stop-start system, a CVT transmission, and CO2 emissions in the mid-90g/km range.

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The new Thai factory, which employs 3,000 people, will make 150,000 units of the Mitsubishi Concept Global Small annually, and it will be sold in Thailand at a starting price of about 400,000 Thai baht. The factory will handle pressing, welding, painting and assembly of the car.

Look after the jump for two previously released sketches of the Mitsubishi Concept Global Small, including a rear three-quarter sketch.
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