Report: Mitsubishi dropping Evo indefinitely, to focus on EVs instead

By Mark Kleis Wednesday, Mar 2nd, 2011 @ 2:47 p.m.

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that is currently on-sale appears to be the very last of its kind, as Mitsubishi intends to make a focused push towards the development of electric vehicles instead.

The previous statement may sound like an April fool’s joke, but sadly it isn’t. The news came straight from the mouth of Gayu Eusegi, Mitsubishi’s global product director, who spoke with Autocar during the Geneva Motor Show.

Eusegi explained that the current Evo X, while still warranting some demand, will be the last, specifically stating, “There is still demand [for the Evo], but we must stop.”

Gayu Eusegi’s reasoning? That Mitsubishi is changing directions as a company, suggesting “Our influence now is EV technology,” which he attributed to a higher-level policy change for the entire company.

While it may seem like building electric vehicles and continuing the flagship Evolution line wouldn’t need to be mutually exclusive decisions, the product director explained that producing both vehicles could be confusing for customers, saying, “Maybe the world can change, and maybe someday we can do a motor race by electric vehicles. Maybe then we can enter the market again.”

So there you have it, if you are in the market for an Evo X, you will be buying a piece of history that marks the end of an era for Mitsubishi.

Edited March 2, 201115 yr by Gizhost

Further into irrelevance. . .

On one hand, the Evo is the only thing the company has going for it. On the other hand, it sells in such trifle numbers that it hardly seems worth the investment. It's an image booster at best. Perhaps they see going EV as their one competitive advantage back to greater sales and profitability.

They can't do this! This makes me mad!

If they follow through with this, they're absolute fools!

The Evo is one of my favorite Japanese cars; and one of my favorite cars period, really.

Not only that, it's the only car they make that actually sells halfway decently, or is even worth anybody's time. So they're going to discontinue the one car that's keeping them in business? The one car that there's actually demand for?

IDIOTS. THE LOT OF THEM.

my dad and I were just discussing Mistu earlier today. i saw a Galant wagon... wow.

I wouldn't worry about them... I can't their shriveled husk surviving in the North American market, perhaps period in the 5-year term.

LOOOOL!!

Kill off the on thing of any relevance at Mitsubishi, that had positive equity and respect. Brilliant.

I'm surprised people noticed...

Bad move..I guess they are probably getting out of motorsports also.

Edited March 3, 201115 yr by Cubical-aka-Moltar

pow said it best. sure its a great piece, but it sells in few numbers.

if you want to remain in business you need to sell. it's totally fine for mits to ditch a revenue drain.

further proof that the auto industry does not survive on overpriced boy racer fantasies. the whole car and driver save the manuals thing is another piece of crap. they want to save the manuals. whoop de f@#king do. i drive a stick and even i know that overwhelmingly others do not want to.

cede the evo and let subie sell the Sti. it's not like they still won't sell the ralliart.

Edited March 3, 201115 yr by regfootball

further proof that the auto industry does not survive on overpriced boy racer fantasies. the whole car and driver save the manuals thing is another piece of crap. they want to save the manuals. whoop de f@#king do. i drive a stick and even i know that overwhelmingly others do not want to.

The Evo is/has become Mitsubishi's raison d'être in the US. They were the only reason that Mitsu was still on the map to a great extent (halo effect over all the Lancers).

Also, the Evo X was offered with a DCT as well, so I'm not following your diatribe about the manuals.

Edited March 3, 201115 yr by Lamar

the diatribe about manuals is more to show the relative amount of importance to the number of people as a whole. evo is nice, but it doesn't bring new buyers to the brand. car and driver thinks their manuals campaign is quaint, but it really just makes most folks say, move on. they should just live with the notion that fewer cars will have them, and appreciate that some do.

Bad move..I guess they are probably getting out of motorsports also.

Mitsubishi has been out of motorsports for few years now.. Which is sad

pow said it best. sure its a great piece, but it sells in few numbers.

if you want to remain in business you need to sell. it's totally fine for mits to ditch a revenue drain.

further proof that the auto industry does not survive on overpriced boy racer fantasies. the whole car and driver save the manuals thing is another piece of crap. they want to save the manuals. whoop de f@#king do. i drive a stick and even i know that overwhelmingly others do not want to.

cede the evo and let subie sell the Sti. it's not like they still won't sell the ralliart.

Yes, but the point is that it actually sells, and it actually sells rather decently. All of their other models don't. Granted, they aren't as dime-a-dozen as Mitsubishi hoped, but that's the only car keeping them alive. If you cut your lifeline, you die; simple as that. It's just a bad move on their part.

Also a bad move denying enthusiasts one of the better sporty cars on the market.

Edited March 3, 201115 yr by Turbojett

Statement from Mitsubishi

On Thursday 3rd March 2011, @mitsucars said:

Production of the current Lancer Evolution continues as planned.

As for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package & architecture.

MMC has kept the Lancer Evolution sedan evolving as the brand's highest performing model in the global market. However, as the market's needs and demands change, MMC is considering not advancing the Lancer Evolution concept in the same way as before, but to find a different direction for the Lancer Evolution model to evolve. The new direction, the technologies involved, and corresponding products will be disclosed in due course.

Good news.

On one hand, the Evo is the only thing the company has going for it. On the other hand, it sells in such trifle numbers that it hardly seems worth the investment. It's an image booster at best. Perhaps they see going EV as their one competitive advantage back to greater sales and profitability.

Bingo...

The WRX STI is about eleventy billion times a better real world car anyways....

Good news.

Indeed!

Kill off the on thing of any relevance at Mitsubishi, that had positive equity and respect. Brilliant.

Agreed....but then again...as a WRX fan and a guy who doesn't like Mitsu products...hmmm....

Hope the WRX stays around.

Mitsubishi is turning into a slightly richer man's Isuzu.

so they're going to make nothing but ugly suv's?

They're going after the huge EV market. They saw Nissan Leaf sales just like we did. Who wouldn't want to go after such a big slice of pie?

the market for ricers and gearheads to blow 40g on an impractical hatchback is pretty small. Like blu says, EV's are a growth market. New volume markets are things like the Lancer, Outlander and O. Sport, stuff they have to sell because of CAFE.

And then if anyone does want to blow 40k they are buying cute things like minis or 3 series.

Edited March 4, 201115 yr by regfootball

You blame them? Minis and 3ers are much better day to day than high strung Playstations on wheels.