Mitsubishi and Nissan are looking into the possibility of jointly-developed pick-up trucks for the Southeast Asian region, a senior executive said in a Reuters report. The move is said to encourage savings within the Renault-Nissan Alliance, which recently acquired Mitsubishi following Nissan’s purchase of a 34% stake in the Japanese carmaker.

Mitsubishi chief operating officer Trevor Mann said future replacements for the Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton could share the same underpinning, albeit with their own distinct styling. This is similar to what is accomplished by the Renault Alaskan and the Navara NP300.

However, Mann says Mitsubishi’s pick-up platforms, not Nissan’s, will most likely be the basis for future Alliance models. “If you look at our cost performance in that region, we are the benchmark within the Alliance. Our four-by-four technology, our cost base on pickups is better than Nissan’s,” he said.

Mitsubishi, Nissan to share pick-up platform – exec

In reference to the Thailand market, Nissan and Mitsubishi’s plants currently produce ladder frame-based pick-up trucks and cars on separate lines. The move to a common architecture will allow Mitsubishi’s facility to focus on pick-ups, while Nissan will focus on building cars and SUVs. Mann says this could help increase productivity on both sides, but nothing has been decided currently.

Previously, the Alliance’s members have agreed to consolidate all of its electric vehicle platforms, which will help reduce the cost of electric vehicles by utilising scale of economies. Renault and Mitsubishi will use the platform which forms the basis of the next-generation Nissan Leaf electric vehicle.

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