New Mitsubishi Outlander Due In 2021, Could Be Based On The Nissan Rogue

Mitsubishi is finally reversing its trend of declining sales but the company still has a long way to go if it ever wants to return to the time when it used to sell over 300,000 units in the United States.

Thankfully the company is going to have some help as it’s now part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance. This will pave the way for drastic changes in the future and a recent article from Motor Trend gives us an idea of what to expect.

According to the publication, the next-generation Outlander will arrive in 2021 and be based on the same platform that underpins the Nissan Rogue. The model will reportedly be longer and wider than its predecessor and it will once again be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

About a year later, Mitsubishi will introduce a new Outlander Sport. Mitsubishi Motors North American product manager, Melvyn Bautista, has previously suggested the next-generation model will shrink in size to help distance it from the new Eclipse Cross. At the time, he hinted the model could be about the same size as the Nissan Kicks and it is possible that the two models could share the same platform.

Mitsubishi hasn’t offered a pickup in the United States since the Dodge Dakota-based Raider went out of production in 2009. Dealers have been clamoring for a new truck and Mitsubishi Motors North America COO Don Swearingen said “There are people in the Alliance looking at these things.” While it doesn’t appear that a mid-sized pickup has been green-lighted, it’s possible that Mitsubishi could receive a version of the next-generation Nissan Frontier that will be built in Canton, Mississippi.

Mitsubishi is also planning to embrace electrification and the company has plans for at least two new electric vehicles. Nothing is official but speculation suggests one of them could be an electric Outlander Sport or Eclipse Cross.