It’s no secret that developing a new electric vehicle platform is expensive. We’re talking a bill in the billions, a timeline of years, and the potential rejigging of an entire supplier stack, seismic changes for a manufacturer used to building primarily combustion-powered cars. But what if you’re a little bit short on all of that? For example, if the time and development budget doesn’t make any sense. Well, you could do what Mitsubishi just did and pull a steamed hams, disguising something else as your own cooking.
It’s been a tumultuous decade for Mitsubishi Motors. In 2016, Nissan found that Mitsubishi might not have been entirely truthful when measuring fuel consumption on the latest generation of kei cars. It turns out that, as Reuters reported, “Japanese car maker Mitsubishi Motors Corp said on Tuesday it used fuel economy testing methods that did not comply with Japanese regulations for 25 years, much longer than previously known.” Oof.
From there, Nissan acquired a controlling stake in Mitsubishi, forming the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. Eureka! Renault already sells electric cars in Europe, why not borrow a stick of French gum? You know, one that’s shaped like a Renault Scenic E-Tech. With a little bit of scribbling on the label, this roughly Honda HR-V-sized French electric crossover makes a decent Eclipse Cross for Europe. It’s certainly more handsome than the Eclipse Cross we get in North America.
Indeed, in profile, the Scenic E-Tech and the new Eclipse Cross are the same car. Same doors, same windows, same quarter panels, same cladding treatment. Pull one of the door handles, plunk yourself down in the cabin, and what do you know? You’re staring at the same dashboard, the same steering wheel, and the same screens, albeit with lightly reskinned graphics.
The big changes are the bumpers, the hood, the liftgate, the daytime running lights, the taillights, the wheels, and the badges. That’s about it, and guess what? That’ll do. From the front or the back, the new Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross looks just different enough from the Scenic E-Tech to not appear too hasty, without dramatically altering anything wildly expensive like structural stampings or headlights.
As easy as it is to write this off as laziness, it’s actually a smart move. If you need a specific EV for a specific market pronto, why not rebadge someone else’s acclaimed EV to buy time? It’s already won European Car of the Year so it’s probably not a duffer, and its specs are strong. We’re talking 215 horsepower, an 87 kWh battery pack, and a WLTP range of more than 370 miles.
What’s more, it’s not a bad thing for consumers either. If someone comes along and bangs up your door and insurance wants to put a second-hand one on, parts interchange with written-off examples of a more popular car is a beautiful thing. Plus, it’s not like we haven’t seen projects like this before. The original Toyota Aygo, Citroën C1, and Peugeot 107 were basically the same cars underneath, with the Citroën and Peugeot sharing the bulk of their panels. Even the current Mitsubishi Colt and ASX are lightly restyled Renault Clios and Capturs, and the new Eclipse Cross goes further than those two.
If you need cars now and can get them from somewhere else, you might as well do it. While Mitsubishi takes its time developing its own next-generation cars, a bevy of lightly reworked Renaults will be around to fill European showrooms, and in some cases, collect regulatory credits. Hey, sometimes store-bought is the more sensible option over entirely home-made.
Top graphic image: Mitsubishi
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
The post The New Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Is Secretly A French EV. Here’s Why That’s Smart appeared first on The Autopian.
