There’s no denying the fact that Mitsubishi Motors loves the Philippines. Our country is still among the bright spots of the Japanese automaker, and we’re consistently one of the top markets for them. Heck, they even premiered a concept model recently.
Mitsubishi has pretty busy years ahead of it, too. There’s the production version of the DST Concept, as well as the next-generation Montero Sport and all-new Xpander down the line. But there’s another interesting addition that’s coming soon to the lineup. More specifically, the Philippine lineup.
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Yes, the Philippines gets a special mention in Mitsubishi’s financial report. Aside from being the top market in Asia and Oceania, plans for a new model specifically for the Philippines was shown in the presentation.
Should plans fall into place, we could soon expect a new van from the company. Before you get too excited and think that the Delica is finally coming here, we’re here to tell you that it will come courtesy of Nissan. To further simplify, we’re getting a Nissan van rebadged as a Mitsubishi.
So, what are the possible candidates? Well, it’s unlikely to be the Nissan Serena as there’s no left-hand drive version of it. The Nissan Primastar sounds promising, but it’s a more a Renault product than it is a Nissan. With that, we reckon it’s a rebadged NV350.
How so? Well, it’s somewhat been homologated already in the form of its Nissan counterpart. At the same time, the Japanese versions already use the Mitsubishi 4N16 engine for its diesel versions. It’s worth pointing out that there’s a Mitsubishi Fuso-badged version of the NV350. Lastly, it’s the one that requires the least amount of changes on the bodywork and interior.
Of course, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines isn’t mentioning anything yet. But the fact that mother company itself has announced it, we’re pretty sure that a Mitsubishi-badged Nissan van is coming here soon.
