Mitsubishi chooses Geneva for rebirth
Mitsubishi announced that it would show off a new car, and styling direction, at the 2012 Geneva auto show. The company released a teaser photo ahead of its press introduction.
Facing a lack of coherency in its current model lineup, Mitsubishi promises to launch a new series of vehicles identifiable by a common design language, beginning with a new car at the 2012 International Motor Show in Geneva.
Mitsubishi's major recent launches were the Outlander Sport and the i Miev electric car, two models with very little in common. There have also been rumors that the company will discontinue the Lancer Evo, although Mitsubishi seems likely to keep the name but use a more economical engine.
So it is high time for a model shake-up, and Mitsubishi promises that the new Geneva car will be just that. The car it will unveil heralds an "all-new generation of global products," according to Mitsubishi. The car to be unveiled will be in the premium segment, not an area for which Mitsubishi is known.
The teaser photo released by the company shows a truck- or crossover-like front end with heavy contours in the hood. The grille treatment is new, with the more recent jet-fighter intake design relegated to the space below the bumper.
Mitsubishi's release offered no further details, besides suggesting the company will be pushing plug-in hybrid technology in its future vehicles.
To accomplish its transformation, Mitsubishi need only look to the examples of Hyundai and Kia, which relaunched their entire lineups in just a few years with good success.