Mitsubishi Kills off Mirage in the U.S, could it be a sign of things to come?
The Mitsubishi Mirage has been a staple in the market as the true Econo-Box for quite some time now. It’s been around sine the 2010’s and has survived through the ebb and flow of the market by getting minor updates here and there.
It seems as though time is up for the Mirage in the U.S, and could it spell what’s next for the rest of the world as well?
Mitsubishi kills Mirage in America
This bit of news has been confirmed to Car and Driver Magazine by Mitsubishi spokesperson Jeremy Barnes who said “Mirage is being discontinued in the U.S. market, and there will not be a 2025 model. Production will cease late this year, and we expect to have sufficient dealer stock to last into the summer of 2025.”
It doesn’t really come as a surprise given that the Mirage no longer fits the market needs despite being the most affordable car on sale in America. Globally the market and the brands have shifted to small crossover as the preferred affordable offerings, with hatchbacks and sedans dwindling in number.
So what next?
The United States is a massive market and sometimes serves as a possible comparison as to what will eventually happen to the rest of the world.
This might be troubling for our local Mitsubishi counterpart, who still produces and sells (so far) the Mirage in hatchback and G4 sedan form. It has been part of the government-backed CARS program that was made to aid the struggling manufacturing arm of the country, in other words, the Mirage has a huge impact on the local market.
While the Mirage still enjoys strong sales locally, we’re already seeing other brands take advantage of the small affordable crossover market that has spelled doom for the Mirage in the U.S, and the time will come when it may no longer be viable to produce and sell the model here also. This also could mean that the Mirage in its current form would be the latest, and further updates would be very minor or none at all, which is a problem for an already very old platform and formula.
This is all speculation at the moment, but the Mirage may really be on borrowed time, and Mitsubishi’s vehicles aren’t exactly selling at huge numbers now locally so the loss of the Mirage will truly be felt.
