A few months after the fuel mileage scandal erupted in early 2016, Nissan bought Mitsubishi, thus saving it from going out of business. Since then, Nissan higher-ups suggested that parts sharing for next-gen models is the way to go for one brand to bounce back and for the other to keep development costs low.
Nissan is very serious about getting Mitsubishi back into the game. To this effect, Carlos Ghosn will step down from Nissan to take new responsibilities at Mitsubishi Motors. Trevor Mann was also appointed at the lesser company.
From his previous role at Nissan, Mann’s business card now reads chief operating officer at the Minato-based automaker. Speaking to Australian publication Motoring, Mr. Mann had this to say about the future Pajero: “One of the things that we need to look at is what are the benefits that we could have in terms of sustaining that product if we were to work with Nissan."
This is the line Mitsubishi will soldier on now that Nissan owns it, and to be frank, it would’ve been pretty costly and unnecessary to do otherwise. In other words, the next-generation Pajero and Patrol will be brothers in arms.
Mann underlined that increasing pressure regarding CO2 compliance convinced both parties that hybridization is not an option for the future, but a necessity. "One of the things you need with a vehicle like that is high torque and one of the things you get with an electric motor is high torque."
Long-term product plans are still ongoing, but Nissan and its subsidiary should conclude what’s what by the end of March 2017. A timeline for the upcoming 4x4 twins hasn’t been provided, but the truth of the matter is, both the Pajero and Patrol need replacement. The Pajero as we know it today, for example, went on sale in Japan back in 1999. The Y62-generation Patrol, which is called Armada in the U.S., has been around since 2010 or so.
On an ending note, I wonder what sort of platform are the two companies thinking about. Seeing that even the Land Rover Discovery went unibody in the detriment of the body-on-frame, I’m afraid the writing is on the wall.
From his previous role at Nissan, Mann’s business card now reads chief operating officer at the Minato-based automaker. Speaking to Australian publication Motoring, Mr. Mann had this to say about the future Pajero: “One of the things that we need to look at is what are the benefits that we could have in terms of sustaining that product if we were to work with Nissan."
This is the line Mitsubishi will soldier on now that Nissan owns it, and to be frank, it would’ve been pretty costly and unnecessary to do otherwise. In other words, the next-generation Pajero and Patrol will be brothers in arms.
Mann underlined that increasing pressure regarding CO2 compliance convinced both parties that hybridization is not an option for the future, but a necessity. "One of the things you need with a vehicle like that is high torque and one of the things you get with an electric motor is high torque."
Long-term product plans are still ongoing, but Nissan and its subsidiary should conclude what’s what by the end of March 2017. A timeline for the upcoming 4x4 twins hasn’t been provided, but the truth of the matter is, both the Pajero and Patrol need replacement. The Pajero as we know it today, for example, went on sale in Japan back in 1999. The Y62-generation Patrol, which is called Armada in the U.S., has been around since 2010 or so.
On an ending note, I wonder what sort of platform are the two companies thinking about. Seeing that even the Land Rover Discovery went unibody in the detriment of the body-on-frame, I’m afraid the writing is on the wall.