Compact SUV joins Mitsubishi and Peugeot Citröen

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and PSA Peugeot Citroën will be joining efforts once again as both companies have announced that they will be collaborating on the development of a new compact SUV. This new vehicle will be based on an existing Mitsubishi platform and will be developed and adapted for each of the three brands involved in the agreement.

Planned to be launched in the beginning of 2012 in Europe, the new compact SUV will be sharing many components with Mitsubishi’s RVR (named ASX in Europe). The vehicle will have specific designs for Peugeot and Citroën.

According to PSA Peugeot Citröen the new vehicles should be available in both four- and two-wheel drive, with the company predicting to reach a production volume of 50,000 units per year for both brands.

The expansion of both Peugeot’s and Citroën’s lineup range is the main objective with the new vehicles, looking to attract new customers and betting on a market segment that by 2015 is expected to have grown almost 60% worldwide.

As for Mitsubishi the company will be benefiting of economies of scale thanks to increasing use of the platform.

After the SUV Mitsubishi Outlander, Peugeot 4007 and Citroën C-Crosser agreement in 2005, the construction of a joint plant in Russia and the European launch in late 2010 of the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-zero electric vehicles, based on MMC's Japanese i-MiEV model, this is the fourth time both companies will be working together on a same project.