In May last year, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance detailed the new roles of the automakers within the conglomerate. Mitsubishi got the position of a leader of the business in the Southeast Asia region. At the time, the company wasn’t exactly sure what to do with its operations in Europe but a decision was taken just a few months later.
In the summer of 2020, Mitsubishi announced it is halting the introduction of new models for the Old continent in an attempt to reduce its costs by 20 percent in two years and become profitable again. The decision included not launching the new Outlander in the European markets, though a new report indicates the strategy could change soon.
Quoting a report from The Financial Times, Autocar says the Diamond brand could put some of its Euro-spec models on Renault’s production lines in France. Such a move could open the doors for new models to start arriving in Europe. The information is unofficial, but the publication cites sources within the Alliance with "direct knowledge of the matter," saying an official announcement could come as early as later this week.
Models that could reach Euro soil:
The reintroduction of the marque in Europe doesn’t seem unquestioned at the time though. Autocar says bosses at Mitsu are not happy with having French politics influencing the strategy of the Alliance. The publication also got a statement from the company, claiming that no changes in the business strategy are planned.
"We won't comment on this but I can tell you that Mitsubishi's plans to transition to an aftersales-only business before the end of the year have not changed." It remains unclear whether these words concern the entire European continent or only the UK market.
Best case scenario, Mitsubishi will eventually introduce the new Outlander in Europe. This doesn't seem highly likely at the moment but it's surely not impossible. We hope to have more information very soon so stay tuned.
Source: Autocar