Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance Chairman and CEO
Carlos Ghosn confirmed a new Mitsubishi van today. As per a report from Stuff
New Zealand, the company could name this model 'L300'. Mitsubishi will launch a new van
based on the platform of the third generation Renault Trafic. Citing a
spokesman from the company’s New Zealand subsidiary, the report says that the
company is yet to finalise the name, but L300 is a possibility. The Mitsubishi
L300 was the Mitsubishi Delica for export markets in its earlier generations.
Mitsubishi plans sales of the Trafic platform-based
van in only Australia and New Zealand. However, Trevor Mann, the company’s COO,
has not ruled out selling the model globally. "Just after Mitsubishi
joined the Renault-Nissan Alliance, it was a strong request from the team in
Australia to have more of a LCV offering and Renault, our partners, are
extremely strong in Euro vans sold globally. It was an obvious request,"
Mann told Australian site CarAdvice today.
There’s no word on when the new Mitsubishi van will
reach showrooms. Asked if 2020 was the year for launch by CarAdvice, Mann said:
“If I get my way, it’ll be sooner.” Mann has suggested that the new
Mitsubishi van may not look all that different from the Renault Trafic. “You know, I’m not a huge fan of
cross-badging, but on LCVs it doesn't matter so much; the industry is full of
cross-badges because you don’t necessarily buy a van because of the badge, but
because of the service, relationship with the dealer, in a fleet pool, et
cetera.”
Nissan and Fiat sell the Renault Trafic LCV made at
the Sandouville plant, as the NV300 and the Talento respectively, while
Mitsubishi and Fiat have an agreement for the latter to sell the Triton as the
'Fullback' pickup.
