Mitsubishi has announced plans for two battery electric vehicles, with one set to debut locally as early as next year. As a result, the Japanese company has confirmed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Foxtron Vehicle Technologies.
That partnership will see the latter supply Mitsubishi with an EV model that will launch in Australia and New Zealand in the second half of 2026. Details of what shape it will take is unclear, but it will be manufactured in Taiwan by Foxtron parent Yulon Motor.
Mitsubishi claims the car will offer “excellent driving performance… and an advanced infotainment system, making it optimal for the Oceania region”. This vehicle will be a key part of the Australian product plan announced last year, which extends through to 2030.
In a statement released to Australian media, Mitsubishi Motors Australia chief executive Shaun Westcott described the announcement, which will see the car make its global debut locally, as further evidence of its core market relationship with MMC [Japan].
“This pure EV model is the latest step in our Momentum 2030 plan and offers another string to our multi-powertrain bow that will see us through to the next decade,” he said.
“It will join a refreshed Mitsubishi range that already offers petrol, diesel and PHEV options that fit Australian lifestyles.”
Elsewhere, Mitsubishi is also leveraging its partners in the Alliance with Renault and Nissan with details emerging of another BEV for the North American market. It will be based on the upcoming third-generation Nissan Leaf.
Similarly due in the second half of 2026, it’s part of a platform-sharing exercise that will also see Mitsubishi’s plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) know-how utilised to supply an OEM model to Nissan for that market.
The Japanese car maker has also confirmed it’s exploring further collaboration opportunities utilising this Leaf-based model, including potential expansion into Australia and other markets.
“At this stage, we are still working through the opportunity and will have more information as plans are confirmed,” a spokesperson for Mitsubishi’s Australian arm told Exhaust Notes Australia.
Although Mitsubishi was an early electric vehicle innovator, with the i-MiEV launching in 2009 as the first mass-produced EV, it has since turned its attention to PHEV models such as the Outlander, which became the world’s first plug-in hybrid SUV in 2013.
The company currently has plans for 100 per cent of its new vehicles to be electrified by 2035, while still retaining a feeling of what it describes as “Mitsubishi Motors-ness”.
