Renault has been strategically aligned with Nissan since 1999 but today the Franco-Japanese partnership just announced their intention to cooperate with ailing automaker Mitsubishi.
The trio of car companies is exploring new projects; the brands could share products, technology and manufacturing capacity. Specifically, there’s talk of developing a new small car. This project could include an electric variant that would be sold in global markets
Additionally, two new Mitsubishi sedans could be launched. These cars would be based on Renault architectures. One of them would be a full-size model designed to compete in the D-Segment market of the United States and Canada. It would likely be assembled in South Korea of all places.
The second model would be a C-Segment sedan, something sized like a Chevy Cruze, Honda Civic or Hyundai Elantra. Currently there’s no word where this model could be built, but it sounds like a replacement for the aged Mitsubishi Lancer.
The three-diamond brand has been struggling for years, could this announcement mean they’re finally going to start selling more cars? It seems nothing is set on stone just yet but these efforts sound like important first steps.
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