Mitsubishi ASX to be replaced in 2027 with Xforce-based model – report
09/05/2024 11:00 PM
The Mitsubishi ASX – one of the oldest cars on sale today – could soldier on until 2027 before it is replaced by a new model, but the brand’s local arm might not be able to wait that long.
A new report claims the Mitsubishi ASX small SUV will be replaced in some markets with a redesigned model in the next three years – but it might be too late for Australia as the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) is due to be enforced from mid-2025.
Automotive News reports Mitsubishi will replace the ASX – also badged Outlander Sport and RVR – in 2027 with a new-generation model based on the Xforce, which launched in South-East Asia in 2023.
First launched in 2010, the Mitsubishi ASX will be almost twenty years old before it is replaced in 2027, if the rumoured timeline proves accurate.
The GS platform underneath the current ASX dates back to even older cars such as the 2006 Mitsubishi Outlander and 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer.
Typically, new vehicles are replaced four to seven years after first going on sale, often with all-new or heavily updated underpinnings.
Mitsubishi Australia is in a race against time to replace the current ASX as it could struggle to meet future safety and emissions legislation, including the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) due to be implemented from mid-2025.
All versions of the Mitsubishi ASX currently exceed the 'headline' NVES emissions target for 2025 of 141g/km for passenger vehicles, which will gradually fall each calendar year to 58g/km by 2029.
However, Mitsubishi’s local arm is hesitant to take the Xforce in its current form as will require expensive safety upgrades with an aim to achieve a five-star score in ANCAP crash testing – an attractive feature for new-cars on sale in Australia.
Mitsubishi Australia estimates the Xforce – known as the XFC in concept form – would achieve a three-star ANCAP score under the current 2023-25 criteria, excluding it from corporate fleets requiring vehicles with a five-star score, and private buyers who value top safety marks.
MORE: 2024 Mitsubishi Xforce: The ASX replacement Australia isn't getting, for now
“The XFC in its current form can't be used because of the ANCAP requirements,” said Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott in July 2023.
“If we took that XFC platform we would have to re-engineer the entire car for the Australian market, because the requirements of ANCAP are not requirements in the other markets where we will sell that vehicle."
Mitsubishi executives said the Xforce is based on the same platform as the Xpander people mover, which is aimed at South-East Asia rather than "Australia, New Zealand or those developed countries".
Measuring 4390mm long, 1810mm wide and 1660mm tall, the Xforce is 25 millimetres longer, 20mm taller, and no wider than the current ASX.
“Having an ASX replacement is very important for us, and we are fighting, begging, crying, doing everything that we can to get an ASX replacement," added Westcott.
If Mitsubishi Australia is unable to take the rumoured future ASX in 2027 – or if it is required to stop importing the current model before then due to tightening regulations – it could be left to consider the European-market ASX, which is a rebadged version of the Spanish-built Renault Captur.
The brand has admitted either a modified version of the Xforce, or the Renault Captur rebadged European version, are the two bookends for Australia as a replacement for the current ASX.
Crucially, the European ASX is fitted as standard with full-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains – setting it apart from the non-hybrid Renault Captur currently available in Australia – which would enable it to fall under the initial 'headline' emissions targets of the NVES.
While the Renault Captur achieved a five-star ANCAP result in testing conducted in 2019, the safety organisation is not obliged to share a donor car's safety result if a new vehicle is introduced more than two years after the original model.
Since 2019, ANCAP has focused on new technologies such as a front-centre airbag, more advanced autonomous emergency braking detection, driver monitoring systems, and child presence detection, which are not currently fitted to the Renault Captur or European-market Mitsubishi ASX.
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