- Nissan will provide the Japanese carmaker with one of its EVs to sell in the U.S.
- Mitsubishi and Nissan are also working to co-develop a one-ton pickup for North America.
- Changing economic conditions has helped the car company’s North American business.
North America has overtaken Southeast Asia as Mitsubishi’s top earning market, just in time for the carmaker to launch an electric vehicle sourced from Nissan and a new mid-sized pickup truck.
While Southeast Asia has long been the company’s most profitable region, high interest rates and an appreciation of the Thai baht have hurt its local business. By comparison, foreign exchange rates and the weakening of the Yen have helped it in North America. This shift comes shortly after the company confirmed it has new products in the works for the local market.
Read: Mitsubishi, Nissan To Team Up On Pickup, PHEV And EV For North America
Perhaps the most important new model from Mitsubishi will be an electric vehicle it’ll receive from Nissan. Speaking on a recent earnings call, Mitsubishi chief executive Takao Kato said this project is still being studied and failed to provide any more details about the EV.
Then there’s the pickup. As reported by Autonews, this new model will be a one-ton truck developed in partnership with Nissan and built in Mexico. North American production will allow it to avoid a 25% tariff placed on pickups imported into the U.S. and provide Mitsubishi with a compelling rival to the Ford Ranger. It’s unclear if the new model will be similar to the Triton pickup sold in many overseas markets, particularly Southeast Asia.
In March, Nissan and Honda announced a memorandum of understanding to explore the possibility of sharing and procuring important electric vehicle components. Kato says Mitsubishi hasn’t been approached by Nissan or Honda to collaborate on this project but said the brand is open to such partnerships.
“One thing for sure is that it would be extremely difficult for an automaker of our size to survive all on its own,” he said. “I think exploring collaboration with partners is the best strategy.”
In exchange for supplying Mitsubishi with one of its EVs, Nissan will use its partner’s plug-in hybrid technology in future models.
