Mitsubishi’s previously announced five year plan, called Momentum 2030, calls for the launch of one new model per year, meaning either a refreshed model or a completely new one. At least two of the models coming in the next five years will be completely new.
This week, the Japanese automaker confirmed the first of those will be a small electric SUV, set for late 2026. The company made the announcement to its dealers at the U.S. dealer meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The new model will be manufactured in Japan and should debut at the same time as an off-road variant of the Outlander, coming in the second half of 2026.
Mitsubishi executives did not share details about the new EV at the meeting, but a source told Automotive News that it will be a small, coupe-style SUV, and that it will be similar to what Nissan is working on as the replacement for the LEAF.
That model is expected by the end of 2025. It is being designed on the same structure as the Ariya electric SUV and is likely to feature styling closely following that of the Chill-Out concept previously presented by Nissan.
Mitsubishi dealers are naturally delighted by the news; new models can only help increase sales volume. That urgency is perhaps felt more keenly in the U.S., since in Canada the brand continues to break its own sales records, largely due to the success here of the Outlander PHEV.
Still, on both sides of the border, dealers want to make up for the loss of the Mirage in the product lineup. To help its dealers, Mitsubishi is reportedly considering lowering the price of the RVR (Outlander Sport in the U.S.) and also offering a less expensive entry-level version.
Hovering over all this are those partnership/merger discussions between Honda and Nissan, which will be on the agenda over the next 18 months. Mitsubishi, one of Nissan's current partners, has already said it will not be part of the new group as such, but that it will continue to collaborate.
