Mitsubishi’s India plans get new charge after joining Renault-Nissan Alliance

Following the acquisition by the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Mitsubishi’s India plans get a boost with access to resources and the low-cost CMF-A platform.

By Hormazd Sorabjee, Autocar India

09 Mar 2017

5427 Views

On October 20, 2016, Renault-Nissan Alliance chairman Carlos Ghosn and Osamu Masuko, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, announced the acquisition of MMC.

After 20 years of a sideline performance, Mitsubishi seems all set to play in the big league thanks to its recent acquisition by Renault-Nissan.

Thus far, Mitsubishi’s presence in India had been limited to only a product-by-product technical collaboration with Hindustan Motors (HM), where HM either imported or built and sold specific models like the Pajero, Outlander and the Lancer which did find a good market. The model-specific technical collaboration meant that updates and new-generation models were not automatically on the radar, and the partnership never benefited from the strategy like a full local presence would have.

However, with this acquisition of Mitsubishi, this is set to change. When asked if Mitsubishi would now re-evaluate its India operations, Renault-Nissan Alliance boss Carlos Ghosn said, “Without any doubt, India is a very big future market for any carmaker and for Mitsubishi in particular.”

But don’t expect these changes soon as Mitsubishi has a lot on its plate globally and the management will have to prioritise tasks. Also for India, new products would need to be engineered on the alliance platform to justify costs.

Interestingly, Ghosn also confirmed that the CMF-A platform that underpins Renault’s most successful car in India, the Kwid will also be available to Mitsubishi. “Today you are having a Renault product (on the CMF-A platform), tomorrow you are going to have a Nissan product, but this platform will be open to Mitsubishi,” he said.

What will also be interesting to see is which Mitsubishi products will make it to India, apart from the Alliance models. The Lancer, which found success in India and built a strong brand value and fan base, could be a compelling choice as would some of the SUVs, given the rising popularity of these vehicles in India.

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