The brand new Renault-based 2026 Mitsubishi ASX could not have been the Japanese model’s first alternative, however making certain there was an appropriate alternative for the 15-year-old however nonetheless common small SUV was key in a market crammed with uncertainty.
Chatting with CarExpert on the launch of the brand new ASX – which is predicated on the Renault Captur – executives from Mitsubishi Australia all however confirmed the automobile is a stopgap earlier than a “true alternative” could be developed.
With the earlier ASX having been on sale since August 2010, we requested Mitsubishi Australia’s Basic Supervisor of Product Technique, Bruce Hampel, why a alternative mannequin wasn’t in improvement sooner – or if there was maybe a stillborn challenge which has by no means seen the sunshine of day.
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“I can’t actually converse [to it] – however you’re on the cash,” Mr Hampel advised CarExpert.
“By way of like, yeah, [the new ASX] was filling a must have an providing on this area till we are able to develop most likely the true alternative of ASX.”
However whereas the all-new ASX has solely simply been launched in Australia, the Renault Captur on which it’s primarily based is already midway by its anticipated mannequin life – having first gone on sale in Europe in 2019.
“We would have liked a product within the small SUV area and we wanted one which met the necessities that the European ASX… that Europe had already engineered [to our standards] was the logical alternative for us, simply to ensure we had a constant movement, or presence, within the small SUV area,” Mr Hampel defined.
ABOVE: The previous-generation Mitsubishi ASX.
“The place we need to be with that area three to 5 years from the longer term I suppose continues to be below debate.
“However you’re right by way of your timeframes, proper? We’re in these discussions now. What’s the long term view going to be in our small SUV area?” Mr Hampel stated.
A part of the problem, Mr Hampel added, is that Australia is a “very dynamic market in the meanwhile,” with the model having to try to anticipate future laws from the federal authorities.
Following modifications to the Australian Design Guidelines, Mitsubishi’s mannequin lineup has been diminished considerably, with the automaker to solely have the Triton ute, Outlander mid-size SUV, and the brand new ASX inside its portfolio – as soon as current inventory of its bigger Eclipse Cross small SUV and Pajero Sport off-road SUV are bought out.
“I feel from our perspective, on the finish of the final [life] cycle of this product, no matter that could be, we purpose to have one other product prepared to exchange it,” Tim Clarke, Senior Product and Program Supervisor advised CarExpert.
“We don’t need to have blackout intervals or gaps and we’re speaking to our dad or mum firm about what that alternative – nicely, the successor product – can be.
“Like Bruce stated, there’s plenty of volatility available in the market in the meanwhile. Electrification, additionally round ANCAP – like, is [a five-star safety rating] going to be the requirement into the longer term, as nicely?
“We’re having to make assumptions and enter that into the enterprise circumstances now, as to what that product will find yourself being,” Mr Clarke stated.
Whereas it seems the new-generation ASX may solely be on sale in Australia for lower than 5 years, the automaker says it has but to substantiate its product plans.
Final month, information of the sudden resignation of Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott got here to mild simply days earlier than VFACTS information confirmed the corporate slipped down the nationwide gross sales charts.
Learn our first evaluation of the brand new Mitsubishi ASX right here.
