Mitsubishi isn’t looking for a replacement, as it focuses on crossovers.
Ask Mitsubishi for information about the future. You’ll find out about its plans to place crossovers at its forefront of all it does. Ask Mitsubishi about the company’s current success and you will hear how the Mirage, despite bad reviews, is surpassing sales expectations. You’ll get silence if you ask Mitsubishi about the Lancer.
Yes, the Lancer is going out of business. There’s no replacement. Don Swearingen is the executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors North America and chief operating officer. He confirms that the company intends to eliminate the Lancer. The production of the compact sedan will cease in August.
Swearingen didn’t think there was a need to replace the C-segment car. This is despite the tie-in between the company and Nissan . “We lose a bit” by not having Lancer, not to mention its rally-car-for-the-streets Evolution model, but plans to discontinue the Lancer were in place long before the Renault-Nissan deal was finalized.
Over the years, sales of the Lancer have been in steady decline. In 2002, Mitsubishi sold 69,000 Lancers. However, these numbers dropped to a paltry 14,304 in 2016.
Mitsubishi claims that the Mirage is a key component of its success. According to Swearingen, “Our customers love this product” and a new version will be launched around the end the decade. Mitsubishi claims it will have everything it needs in America, thanks to the Mirage and its upcoming compact crossover.