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Mitsubishi to Sell Rebadged Renault Cars in Southeast Asia

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Much has been said of how Nissan and Mitsubishi will help each other following the former’s purchase of a controlling stake in the latter, but there has been little mention of how Renault, the third arm of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, would factor in—well, in the media, anyway.

On the other hand, it is clear that behind closed doors Renault and Mitsubishi have also been hard at work determining how they can mutually benefit from the Nissan buyout. According to Trevor Mann, Mitsubishi Chief Operating Officer, the automaker may sell re-badged Renaults in Southeast Asia, where it currently enjoys very little presence.

“Renault is almost non-existent in Southeast Asia,” Mann said at the Geneva Motor Show. “If it made sense for Mitsubishi to cross badge a Renault product in Southeast Asia, that could be an interesting discussion.”

Formerly Nissan’s chief performance officer, Trevor Mann was promoted to his current position with Mitsubishi by CEO Carlos Ghosn to help turn the Japanese automaker’s fortunes around.

Mitsubishi already owns three factories in Thailand where it has produced more than three million vehicles, making it a far more dominant force in the region compared to its two allies.

“If you look at our cost performance in that region,” Mann told Reuters earlier this month, “We are the benchmark within the Alliance. Our cost-base on pickups is better than Nissan’s.”

We also know that Nissan and Mitsubishi have been looking into jointly producing pickup trucks such as the Triton in Southeast Asia. Selling re-badged Renaults would likely be no more than the next step.

Sources: Automotive News Europe, Reuters