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Mitsubishi Outlander rumored to get Nissan engine, Rogue Sport to get PHEV

A report in the Japanese business daily Nikkei, picked up by Automotive News, said Mitsubishi anticipates using a Nissan engine in the next-generation Outlander headed our way later this year. If the report comes true, the engine swap would be a first for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance partners outside of Japanese kei cars. Mitsubishi engineers will have an easier time slotting in a Nissan engine as the next-gen Outlander gives up its GS platform — an architecture Mitsubishi co-developed with Daimler Chrysler almost 20 years ago — to move to a modified version of the CMF platform that supports the Nissan Rogue and Qashqai, our Rogue Sport.    Last December, Auto Express spoke to Ponz Pandikuthira, NissanÂ’s European vice president of product planning. The exec said Nissan had two hybrid powertrains under consideration for the next-generation Qashqai, the first being Nissan's serial hybrid ePower system that's fared well in Japan where overall speeds are low, but that might not be suited to Europe's higher average speeds. As for a PHEV, Pandikuthira said, "WeÂ’re not pursuing a big plug-in hybrid strategy. On some car lines weÂ’ll try it out, but the business case for plug-in hybrids is not very good." Completing the round-turn, Nikkei said Mitsubishi would supply its PHEV for the compact Nissan, making the Qashqai the car line that gets the tryout. If that happens, and assuming Nissan brings it here, the Rogue Sport would be Nissan's first PHEV in the U.S. Nissan has tended to delay updating the Rogue Sport to Qashqai spec, so depending on when a PHEV version arrives, it could be the only hybrid in Nissan's U.S. fleet since the Rogue Hybrid retired for the 2020 model year.  The platform and engine exchange would have been planned before Nissan's troubles over the past 18 months, but they represent the alliance's growing effort for greater synergy and lower costs. One supposed tactic going forward comes from the Volkswagen Group playbook, identifying a brand's expertise and putting the brand in charge of developing that expertise for the alliance, the same way the Volkswagen brand develops low-cost platforms and Audi runs R&D for the group. We'll know more about plans afoot at the Franco-Japanese trio when the alliance unveils its new midterm business plan perhaps as soon as this month. Related Video:      

Mitsubishi Concept GC-PHEV could hint at next-gen Montero [w/video]

In desperate need of some competitive new products, Mitsubishi showed up at the Tokyo Motor Show with three concept vehicles. The most important of them might just be this fullsize Concept GC-PHEV (Grand Cruiser). With its full-time four-wheel-drive system and roughly the right package size, we can only hope it hints at a future design for the Pajero/Montero.
Longer, taller and wider than the current Pajero (which is still offered in other markets), the Concept GC-PHEV is a big SUV with a fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid powertrain. A 335-horsepower, 3.0-liter supercharged V6 and an eight-speed automatic transmission are paired with a 94-hp electric motor and high-capacity battery to provide some serious brawn in a green wrapper. The result is targeted fuel consumption of 15 kilometers/liter on the Japanese cycle (around 35 miles per gallon) to go with an all-electric driving range of more than 25 miles.
Mitsubishi's styling team has arguably done a much better job with this Tokyo trio than we've seen from recent new products like the Outlander and Mirage, possibly suggesting a future design language for the automaker. In true concept car fashion, the design is Concept GC-PHEV is over the top, but it's not hard to imagine a vehicle of this size with similar cues gracing the Mitsubishi lineup at some point in the near future. Likewise, while the concept's interior only seats four, the sheer size of this vehicle could easily allow three rows of seats for a production model.

Nissan officials answer to angry shareholders on red ink, Ghosn scandal

Smoke engulfs the Nissan logo as workers burn tires during a protest in Barcelona, Spain, where the automaker is closing its plant, costing 3,000 direct jobs. (AP/Emilio Morenatti)     TOKYO — Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told shareholders Monday he is giving up half his pay after the Japanese automaker sank into the red amid plunging sales and plant closures in Spain and Indonesia. Uchida apologized for the poor results and promised a recovery by 2023, driven by cost cuts and new models showcasing electric-car and automated-driving technology. “We will tackle these challenges without compromise,” he said at a live-streamed meeting. “I promise to bring Nissan back on a growth track.” Executives for the company also blasted suggestions in media reports of a conspiracy within the company to oust Carlos Ghosn. The former chairman's 2018 arrest in Japan on financial misconduct charges has led to much speculation that the move was orchestrated by Nissan executives who opposed closer ties with partner Renault. “I know that in books and the media there has been talk about a conspiracy, but there are no facts whatsoever to support this,” Motoo Nagai, chairman of NissanÂ’s auditing committee, told shareholders at the companyÂ’s annual general meeting. Responding to demands from a shareholder to address the speculation, Nagai argued that the investigation into Ghosn was conducted both internally and by outside law firms. All the worldÂ’s automakers have been hurt by nose-diving sales caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But the problems are especially serious for Nissan, which already was fighting to salvage its reputation after the financial misconduct scandal of former star executive Ghosn. Nissan, based in Yokohama, Japan, sank into its first annual loss in 11 years, reporting a 671.2 billion yen ($6.3 billion) loss for the fiscal year that ended in March. It has not given a projection for this fiscal year, citing uncertainties over the virus outbreak. One angry shareholder got up and said executives should give up more of their pay since investors were getting zero dividends. Another said Nissan needed to do more to strengthen its governance, arguing things have been getting worse, not better, since the departure of Ghosn.