The new Renault-based 2026 Mitsubishi ASX may not have been the Japanese brand’s first choice, but ensuring there was a suitable replacement for the 15-year-old but still popular small SUV was key in a market filled with uncertainty.
Speaking to CarExpert at the launch of the new ASX – which is based on the Renault Captur – executives from Mitsubishi Australia all but confirmed the vehicle is a stopgap before a “true replacement” can be developed.
With the previous ASX having been on sale since August 2010, we asked Mitsubishi Australia’s General Manager of Product Strategy, Bruce Hampel, why a replacement model wasn’t in development sooner – or if there was perhaps a stillborn project which has never seen the light of day.
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“I can’t really speak [to it] – but you’re on the money,” Mr Hampel told CarExpert.
“In terms of like, yeah, [the new ASX] was filling a need to have an offering in this space until we can develop probably the true replacement of ASX.”
But while the all-new ASX has only just been released in Australia, the Renault Captur on which it’s based is already halfway through its expected model life – having first gone on sale in Europe in 2019.
“We needed a product in the small SUV space and we needed one that met the requirements that the European ASX… that Europe had already engineered [to our standards] was the logical choice for us, just to make sure we had a consistent flow, or presence, in the small SUV space,” Mr Hampel explained.
ABOVE: The previous-generation Mitsubishi ASX.
“Where we want to be with that space three to five years from the future I guess is still under debate.
“But you’re correct in terms of your timeframes, right? We’re in those discussions now. What is the longer term view going to be in our small SUV space?” Mr Hampel said.
Part of the challenge, Mr Hampel added, is that Australia is a “very dynamic market at the moment,” with the brand having to try and anticipate future regulations from the federal government.
Following changes to the Australian Design Rules, Mitsubishi’s model lineup has been reduced significantly, with the automaker to only have the Triton ute, Outlander mid-size SUV, and the new ASX within its portfolio – once existing stock of its larger Eclipse Cross small SUV and Pajero Sport off-road SUV are sold out.
“I think from our perspective, at the end of the last [life] cycle of this product, whatever that may be, we aim to have another product ready to replace it,” Tim Clarke, Senior Product and Program Manager told CarExpert.
“We don’t want to have blackout periods or gaps and we’re talking to our parent company about what that replacement – well, the successor product – will be.
“Like Bruce said, there’s a lot of volatility in the market at the moment. Electrification, also around ANCAP – like, is [a five-star safety rating] going to be the requirement into the future, as well?
“We’re having to make assumptions and input that into the business cases now, as to what that product will end up being,” Mr Clarke said.
While it appears the new-generation ASX could only be on sale in Australia for less than five years, the automaker says it has yet to confirm its product plans.
Last month, news of the sudden resignation of Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott came to light just days before VFACTS data showed the company slipped down the national sales charts.
Read our first review of the new Mitsubishi ASX here.