Report: Mitsubishi Mirage’s replacement will be a Ford Fiesta rival

Mitsubishi is planning to challenge the Ford Fiesta with a new rival model, which is said to replace the Mirage. But will it abandon the trusty nameplate? That, we have yet to confirm. The only thing given out was that it will share platform and engine with Mitsubishi's bigger allies.

The report came from Auto Express, whom Mitsubishi spoke with at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show. Mitsubishi's vice president and product planning head, Vincent Cobee, told Auto Express that building a 'bespoke platform' is expensive. So, the plan involved seeking the help of its Renault-Nissan allies to share platform with the 2018-bound Clio and next-generation Micra.

Since Nissan acquired the 34% stake on Mitsubishi, Cobee told the European website that the priority was set to launching SUVs. However, subcompact cars play 30% of the entire global demand and meeting emission regulations will be almost-impossible without smaller cars.

Not only will the Mirage-replacement model use a borrowed platform, it will also share Renault's 3-cylinder turbo gasoline engine. Meanwhile, a full-electric variant was also confirmed by Lance Bradley, who is the current boss of Mitsubishi UK. As a review, Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi were reported to have been planning to share an EV platform late last year. Will the unnamed new model be the first project for this?

Source: Auto Express