Mitsubishi ASX to be replaced by rebadged Renault in Australia this year

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The ageing Mitsubishi ASX is finally due to receive a successor in Australia after nearly 15 years on sale – but as a rebranded Renault Captur sold in Europe rather than a ground-up, in-house new model.

It is a vehicle the global boss of Mitsubishi admitted 18 months ago he is “not very sure if it will be very well accepted by the Australian market,” and that “people know that is a vehicle from Renault and not a real Mitsubishi.”

Prices are expected to rise sharply, from $26,240 drive-away for today’s ageing ASX to beyond $35,000, if the closely-related Captur is a guide.

Mitsubishi has been forced to fast-track the Renault-based ASX into Australian showrooms, as the outgoing model will not meet a new mandate for crash-avoidance technology that comes into force from March 2025.

Stock of the old ASX has been built up to help bridge the gap to the new model, but the Japanese brand says the cost of re-engineering the current car to meet the new rules “was not commercially feasible.”

The new ASX – due in local showrooms sometime this year – is based on the Renault Captur city SUV, with different bumpers and badges to set it apart.

It is smaller than Australia’s current 15-year-old ASX in every exterior dimension, but is a decade newer – the Captur debuted in 2019 – and offers more modern technology.

MORE: Australia's tightening car safety regulations will force several major brands to axe popular models

Overseas, it is sold with a choice of mild-hybrid or ‘full’ hybrid power, promising fuel use of less than 5.0 litres per 100 kilometres – down from as high as 7.9L/100km today.

It is built in a Renault factory in Spain, so it will attract a 5 per cent import tariff not faced by the current Japanese-built model, as Australia has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Japan but not Europe.

The ASX will be the second Renault rebadged for Mitsubishi showrooms in Australia, after the Express van sold from 2020 to 2022, in which time it earned a zero-star safety rating.

MORE: Mitsubishi Express van axed after 'zero star' crash test, fallout with Renault 

A replacement for the ASX has long been a topic of contention – as one of the brand’s top sellers locally – with the rebadged Captur one of the options mooted, thanks to an alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi Australia has expressed a preference for an all-new vehicle developed in-house to ensure sufficient “Mitsubishi-ness”.

However, global executives have warned such a vehicle may not be ready until 2027 or later, as it would need to wait for the development of a new platform.

It would leave Mitsubishi Australia without a small SUV once the current ASX leaves showrooms, forced by a mandate for car-to-car autonomous emergency braking (AEB) technology in force from March 2025.

While the current ASX is fitted with car-to-car AEB – designed to slam the brakes if it detects a rear-end collision is imminent – its system is seemingly not compliant with the Australian rules.

The same mandate will spell the end locally for the ASX’s Eclipse Cross sibling, as well as the current-generation Pajero Sport, though a new version of the latter is expected in the next 18 months.

“Given the position of ASX, Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport in their current life cycles, investment towards the re-engineering of these vehicles to incorporate the new ADRs was not commercially feasible,” Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott said in a media statement.

"As a result, Australian production of these vehicles has ended. This is not unprecedented; we have seen similar situations before, and our teams are well prepared to manage this transition.

"We have worked closely with our dealer partners to ensure each model line will be ordered in sufficient quantities ahead of time. This will support our customers while we continue to confirm our future model plans as a core Mitsubishi market.

“We will announce these future models in due course.”

MORE: Mitsubishi Australia to launch eight new and refreshed models by the end of the decade

In July 2023, Mitsubishi global CEO Takao Kato told a roundtable of Australian media including Drive: “It might be possible to introduce this model into Australia, but I’m not very sure if it can be a success or not.

“People know that is a vehicle from Renault and not a real Mitsubishi, and I’m not very sure if it will be very well accepted by the Australian market.”

Also mooted for local showrooms is a re-engineered version of the Mitsubishi Xforce SUV sold in South-East Asia, but it would require significant structural upgrades to meet local regulations.

While the European ASX appears the more crash-worthy option, it may still fall short of top marks in independent safety testing as the ASX was awarded four stars out of five by Euro NCAP last year.

The score was based on a newer four-star test of the Captur – via its closely-related Renault Symbioz siblin in Europe – which superseded the previous rating for the current model based on less stringent 2019 testing.

The ANCAP safety ratings for the outgoing ASX expired in January 2023, based on testing conducted in 2014.

Mitsubishi has previously teased its future model line-up for Australia – with what appear to be small to mid-size SUVs included – but it is yet to confirm plans for a full-blooded ASX successor.

MORE: Mitsubishi to bring new hybrid and electric line-up to Australia, flagship Triton on its way

In the meantime, the Renault-based ASX will help the company under CO2 emissions rules for new vehicles in force locally this year, which penalise car makers for selling too many high-emissions cars.

Under the standards, a current 2.4-litre ASX would hurt Mitsubishi’s range-wide average to the equivalent of a $6000 fine, while even the non-hybrid 1.3-litre turbo Captur would earn a $2300 penalty.

A hybrid version would perform better, likely earning ‘credits’ that can be used to balance out sales of larger diesel Triton utes.

Mitsubishi is yet to confirm local details of the European-made ASX, but it is likely to use a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine – with or without mild-hybrid tech – or a 1.6-litre petrol-electric hybrid.

It is likely to mirror the Renault Captur, which is currently sold locally with the 1.3-litre engine sans mild-hybrid tech – although a hybrid has been said to be under consideration.

A facelift for the Captur is due locally in the second half of this year – the pre-update model on hiatus until then – featuring upgrades expected to be mirrored by the Mitsubishi.

Price rises are expected for the Spanish-made model, as the outgoing Renault Captur was priced from $33,000 to $39,500 plus on-road costs locally – or about $36,000 to $45,000 drive-away.

In contrast, the current ASX is priced from $26,240 drive-away – or $28,490 with an automatic – and tops $39,180 drive-away for the most expensive variant.

There are also differences in warranty offered locally by Renault and Mitsubishi with the former offering a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the Captur, while the latter touts a 10-year/unlimited kilometre assurance period when serviced with dealers for all models.

The ASX hybrid combines a 1.6-litre petrol engine with a 1.2kWh battery, electric motor and clutchless automatic transmission for 105kW/200Nm combined, and claimed fuel consumption of 4.7 to 4.9L/100km in European testing.

Meanwhile, the 1.3-litre turbo four-cylinder engine is matched with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox for 116kW/270Nm in Europe and claimed fuel use of 5.9 to 6.2L/100km.

ASX customers in Australia currently have a choice of 110kW/197Nm 2.0-litre and 123kW/222Nm 2.4-litre non-turbo petrol engines, with claimed fuel use of 7.6 to 7.9L/100km under less stringent test protocols.

Features available in the ASX include a 10.4-inch touchscreen with built-in Google apps, 10-inch instrument display, Harman Kardon premium stereo, heated seats, a panoramic sunroof, and 18-inch wheels.

It offers a range of safety features not offered on the outgoing model, including lane-keep assist, lane centring assist, a driver attention monitor, traffic sign recognition, a 360-degree camera, and more advanced AEB software.

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