Mitsubishi Adding New EV to Lineup: 2027 Eclipse Sportback
Long dormant in North America, Mitsubishi Motors is suddenly alive and kicking. In the past several weeks, the company announced plans to add a new SUV and pickup truck to its lineup and is back with another new offering — the all-electric 2027 Eclipse Sportback.
The company released the first pictures of its new EV, expected to arrive in “the second half of this year,” officials noted. If you look at it and think it looks familiar, it’s because it’s based off the Nissan Leaf. Mitsubishi is continuing to leverage its relationship with also-struggling Nissan to try to regain some sort of market presence in the U.S.
Now the Eclipse Sportback will be differentiated from the new Leaf with a slew of cosmetic changes, including entirely different front and rear fascias. Mitsubishi officials declined to offer any preliminary pricing information.
Mitsubishi isn’t new to EVs, as it’s been developing fully electric vehicles in Japan since the 1970s. The world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle, the i-MiEV, went on sale in select markets in 2009, and arrived in the U.S. and Canada in late 2011. A year later, the Outlander PHEV, the world’s first plug-in hybrid SUV, was introduced globally, arriving in North America in 2018.
Offering a mainstream EV is part of the brand’s Momentum 2030 business plan, which features a path to electrification as one of its four key pillars, officials noted. The others include: a renewed and expanded product lineup, a modernized retail sales model, and a strengthened partnership with the dealer network.
Mitsubishi’s plans call for a new or significantly updated vehicle annually until 2020. The Eclipse Sportback isn’t the only new offering come for 2027, according to the company. A new, rugged off-road derivative of the Outlander SUV is expected to arrive early next year.
The company is also adding the aforementioned pickup, which will borrow from the Nissan Frontier, and the offering that got many off-road fans excited, the new Pajero.
“In addition to the ‘Pajero’ to be launched this year as a model that embodies the DNA of Mitsubishi Motors-ness, we will introduce additional new models going forward as part of the ‘Pajero’ series,” said Mitsubishi CEO Kato last month. Since the new “Pajero” series will adopt the ladder frame from its current Triton pickup, that means a new midsize pickup is coming to the U.S. as well.
[Images: Mitsubishi Motors]
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Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.
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If it is a means to a bigger network and at least something for the dealers to sell that is competitive then its all go...and good luck to them. Mitsubishi is a decent honest brand that could and should be a worthwhile alternative.
Good on Mitsubishi. This is exactly the type of EV manufacturers should be offering right now. Not F150 Lightnening's & Silverados. As already mentioned, the Leaf clone could be a really good buy new & especially used. I wish them luck as this is the type of car that will make EV's more mainstream. But they'll never own the market until both a better battery & and a reliable public charging network in rural areas is realized.
They still sell vehicles here? Who in their right mind would buy anything from them - or Buick? They should both just go away.