Mitsubishi Motors has pledged to invest more than $10 billion into electrified vehicles and battery production through 2030.
The Japanese automaker plans to expand its battery-powered lineup in markets such as North America and Europe, and will rely on help from alliance partners Nissan and Renault for that.
Mitsubishi Motors' CEO Takao Kato today unveiled the company's new mid-term plan, which focuses heavily on electrification. The automaker will invest between $10.26 billion and $13.19 billion (1.4-1.8 trillion yen) in R&D and facilities for electrification through 2030.
This will partially ensure funding for the launch of nine new electrified models, including four BEVs, over the next five years. Among the all-electric models previewed by Kato were a pickup truck, a two-row SUV, and two models sourced from alliance partners Nissan and Renault. The latter will likely be rebadged models.
Mitsubishi did not provide further details about these two EVs, but one of them appears to be a kei car judging by the typical body shape that can be distinguished from under a black cover in a teaser photo of all the upcoming models.
As for the electric pickup, it will target markets such as southeast Asia, Oceania, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa where the combustion engine-powered Triton/L200 is popular. However, Kato did not rule out the possibility of Mitsubishi bringing an all-electric truck to the US.
Gallery: Mitsubishi product roadmap for the next five years
Of the total planned investment, Mitsubishi will allocate $1.54 billion (210 billion yen) to secure 15 gigawatt-hours of annual battery supply in 2030, when it wants electrified vehicles to make up half of its global sales mix. The company expects its entire lineup mix to be electrified in 2035.
Mitsubishi's global expansion plan focuses on the company's traditional markets in southeast Asia and the Oceania region, including Australia. The company predicts that overall volume will rise 42 percent through 2030 in these regions, which it brands as "growth drivers."
In advanced markets, which include North America, Europe, Japan and China, Mitsubishi expects to pioneer advanced technologies such as electrification and explore new digital services, such as online sales. It expects sales to rise 20 percent by 2030 in these regions.
Mitsubishi currently offers only one electrified model in the US, the 2023 Outlander PHEV introduced last year. Electrifying its North American lineup poses a challenge for Mitsubishi as it no longer has a manufacturing facility in the region.
Without a local factory and domestically sourced batteries, an automaker cannot qualify for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress last year. To get around this problem, Kato said Mitsubishi will likely need Nissan's help. "We will discuss how to comply with IRA with our alliance partner Nissan," Kato said.
