The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Mitsubishi today announced a joint intention to explore several projects involving shared products, technology and manufacturing capacity. Along with this, they’ve announced several initiatives that they are currently working on.
NMKV to go global with new small car
Nissan and Mitsubishi already have a joint venture company in Japan called NMKV, which was established in 2011. NMKV handles product planning and engineering for K-cars for the Japanese domestic market. This JV was probably born out of successful badge-engineering projects in Japan between the two companies such as the Nissan Kix, which is a rebadged Pajero Mini, the Delica D:3 which is a rebadged NV200, or the new Proudia which is a rebadged Infiniti M.
As the K-car market is unique to Japan and there are so many manufacturers competing for it, badge engineering is a way to reduce costs and keep up profitability. One of the first cars to be born from NMKV development was revealed in March this year – the Nissan Dayz, also known as the Mitsubishi eK.
In today’s announcement, Mitsubishi and Nissan revealed that NMKV will be extended to co-devleop a new small-segment car including an electric version which can be sold on a global basis, based on a K-car platform – probably the Dayz/eK’s platform. The Dayz/eK has a 2,430mm wheelbase, slightly shorter than that of the Mitsubishi Mirage’s 2,450mm and the Nissan March’s 2,449mm. Could this mean the next generation Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan March will share a platform?
New Global Mitsubishi C-segment Sedan to be based on Renault car
Mitsubishi have been exhibiting all kinds of cars recently – the GC-PHEV which previews a next gen Pajero, the XR-PHEV which previews a next gen ASX and the AR which previews a next gen MPV. The Concept G4 eventually became the B-segment Attrage. But there has been no news about a concept C-segment sedan shown in the last few years that could have given us a preview of the next generation Mitsubishi Lancer.
If you’ve been wondering what has happened to the replacement model for the aging Lancer, we now know it’s coming and have some kind of idea what it will be, assuming discussions conclude positively. Today’s announcement reveals the next generation Mitsubishi Lancer will most likely be based on the Renault Fluence, which was facelifted recently.
New North American Mitsubishi D-segment Sedan to be based on Renault car
It looks like the Concept ZT shown at Tokyo 2007 won’t happen. Today’s announcement also reveals a Galant replacement model, but it will not be a global car, instead targeted at the North American markets of USA and Canada. This car will most probably be based on the Renault Latitude/Renault Samsung SM5, and will be built at Renault Samsung’s plant in South Korea.
Renault is currently not in sale in the USA so the car will be at least unique there. Given North America’s love of big engines, we can probably count the car to be available with Nissan’s 3.5 litre V6. I doubt North Americans would accept a D-segment car powered by a 1.6 litre turbo engine, which the SM5 is also available with.
“Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have jointly benefited from several collaborations in the past, most recently the successful joint-venture on Kei cars in Japan. I welcome the direction being taken towards this broader cooperation, creating new opportunities for Renault in addition to further leveraging the productive relationship between Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors,” said Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
“As a result of the development of collaborative projects with Nissan Motor up to now, Mitsubishi Motors is pleased to work again with Nissan and now Renault towards achieving further collaborations. The new opportunities could be described as evidence that the ongoing collaborative projects between Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan have brought positive results, and Mitsubishi Motors hopes that any new collaborative projects with the Renault-Nissan Alliance would bring us further merits,” said Osamu Masuko, President of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.
Well then, with the two companies working so closely I suppose it’s just perfect that Tan Chong Motors will be building cars for both of them in Malaysia!
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Quote:
“or the new Diamante which is a rebadged Infiniti M.”
Surely you meant Dignity (& Proudia)?
And Proton still thinking it can survive alone and even afford to babysit Lotus too…
If proton rebadge other make, they will say proton ‘law yaa’, “up to this day proton still rebadge aaa?” and so on and so forth.
people angry when p1/p2 rebadge n give moniker rebadge king…mitsu older than p1 still rebadge…
Mitsu seems like a whore to me, sleeps with any partners throughout the world…Nissan, Renault, Samsung, Proton, Aston Martin etc…and the list goes on
Who cares? A whore make money more than anyone else
Is it wrong for companies to collaborate? If that’s the case, then parts suppliers are the biggest whores in the world.. Wow, imagine how many manufacturers that Bosch goes to bed with.. Thanks for your small-minded thoughts, it reminds us of why Malaysia is still a third-world country
people said wrong especially if it involve p1 or p2
people said wrong when p1 rebadge
You just went full retard dawg.
Agree with you. For 25 years cheat Malaysians and Malaysian gomen with old outdated obsolete engines. Japanese cannot be trusted also, see how the colonise the world in WW2. Don’t think Japs are honest.
Mitsubishi is dying lah. If not for Proton, they would close shop in 1985. Now Proton pull out, they looking for another sucker to suck them dry and leech on the. Go see their sales globally, so so so bad. Bad karma for cheating Malaysians with old engines
It’s long due time for the Lancer replacement. The other Japanese C-segment cars already got their replacements. But i think more people would prefer the next Lancer to be based on the Sylphy rather than a Renault but still with MIVEC engines.
Good.
Proton rebadge mitsu. Mitsu rebadge renault. So we will be seing proton rebadge renault soon. Soon lotus also rebadge renault
Proton already used Renault parts for the Waja 1.8 and the Savvy.. Looks like it’s coming full circle
Is this going backward or forward guys? After how many years, at the end still rebadge others?
Inspira is what?
Inspira is old story lah
You didn’t that the sarcasm did you? You guys laaah, always complaint proton this proton that, proton going backward because proton rebadge others. As I said before, rebadging is a normal car industry practice.
I understands ur sarcasm, many logical ppl will…
Some other, may not…
Kesian…Proton still hoping belas kasihan from Honda to rebadge new Perdana…like this kah wanna become jaguh global
hahaha this POB (Proton Obsessive Basher) really makes my day.. this comment already contradicted his earlier comment..
kadajawa on Nov 06, 2013 at 8:35 am
And Proton still thinking it can survive alone and even afford to babysit Lotus too…
well he just like to bash anything involve p1..even it will contradict with his other comment
While I like Renault… but really, the Fluence and Latitude? Renault is great at small cars… but the big ones? They are just me toos, and not that great at that. Though I suppose the sales figures are so poor that selling it under different brands might give them at least some reasonable economy of scale.
But why isn’t the Lancer based on the Megane? That would be a much more fitting choice, both being good road cars as well as track day (Renault)/rally (Mitsubishi) cars. They Megane has the racing pedigree that a Lancer should have.
Fluence is memang Megane sedan.
I am pretty sure the Lancer replacement will be based on Fluence. Why am i so sure? Because i am one of the insider..
u support rebadge?
“Megane has the racing pedigree that a Lancer should have”
You serious? Lancer is one of most known racing names in the world and Megane is only a kid compairing to that…
Lancer based on fluence and evo based on fluence as well? Didnt see that coming.
Let’s wait to see the result of this relationship
Let’s see if Proton rebadge it as new Inspira too…biasalah mau tumpang sekaki jimat R&D costs…Kah3x
Mitsubishi is dying, just see their domestic sales in Japan. Lowest among the 7 carmaker.
Over in China, only the police that using the old Pajero. You hardly spotted a private owner Mitsubishi car.
In US, they had been boycotted over failure to recall their defective car for decade and lawsuit.
In Malaysia with lousy service centre and all of them is very experience is lie and live in the earth with lie, cant even solve problems, minor thing replacement and the SC will ask to change whole thing even SC is know minor thing spoilt, but the SC policy is change whole thing, u can send your complaint to Mit HQ Malaysia, is hopeless too, u will not get a reply or feedback from them.
My experience.
When car companies around the world rebadge cars no one bats an eye… but when proton rebadge cars everyone loses their mind..
:)
Same goes to Perodua when they rebadge..
o wai…
not everyone lorr.. only malaysians lose their mind.
Malaysian mentality… Haha
this is malaysia, people talk without using their brain.
Its really a win-win situation, Mitsubishi get to save money from developing new models and renault-nissan get to increase their market presence in the USA.
Anyway hope the money Mitsubishi saved from rebadging is used to develop the next evo. Unless we will be seeing a evo megane?
You’re also talking without your brain. Seriously.
Mitsubishi now in deep sh1t, their market present in US is almost zero. Just see how many car they offer over there!
Talk about EVO, it’s been an announcement from Mitsubishi that EVO X is the last. There will be no more new EVO.
@aworm
He actually talks with more sense than you do.