That Mitsubishi is having a hard time getting its act together in major markets outside of Japan including Europe and North America, is no secret.
At the Paris Motor Show, the Japanese automaker is showing its…new weapon to reverse slumping sales and gain a more solid foothold in the popular supermini segment with the brand-new Mirage.
Mitsubishi says the slogan it came up for the car is “Less is more”, and by that, it means the Mirage is smaller (3,710 mm long) but at the same time, lighter (from 845 kg or 1,863 lbs), more fuel efficient (4.0 lt/100km or 70.6 mpg UK) and lower priced (not yet announced) than its rivals, which in theory, include the VW Polo and Fiat Punto.
Here’s how Mitsubishi explains its “Less is more” theory:
“Taking into consideration the environmental (CO2emissions) and financial (fuel economy and running costs) challenges global customers are now faced with, it became obvious for MMC R&D that the very concept of “small car” had to be completely reviewed.
More so for the European market where the highly popular B-Segment has drifted away over the last 20 years from its fundamentals with over-specced and over-sized products, often similar what European C-Segment cars used to be.
At the same time, the point was neither for MMC to bring a cheap, de-contented product nor a “low cost” vehicle but a rational / no-nonsense product, with the expected quality and reliability Mitsubishi Motors is renowned for.”
In Europe, the Mirage will be offered with Mitsubishi’s new lightweight and compact-sized 3-cylinder petrol engines, in 1.0-liter (70Hp) and 1.2-liter (79Hp) displacements. A five-speed manual gearbox comes as standard with the larger engine optionally offered with a CVT.
Depending on the market and model, the Mirage will come with energy-saving equipment such as regenerative braking, a high-efficiency alternator, 165/65R14 low friction tires and Auto Stop & Go.
Since March of 2012, the Mirage is built exclusively at the automaker’s plant in Thailand and from there exported to the rest of the world, with Mitsubishi forecasting an annual volume of around 120,000 units for the fiscal year 2012.
The European market model will go on sale in the first quarter of 2013.
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