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At the 2022 Chongqing Auto Show, GAC-Mitsubishi's new generation of Outlander officially unveiled, the new car is based on Renault-Nissan CMF CD platform, Nissan's new Qijun is based on this platform, the power may be equipped with 1.5T four-cylinder engine, the new car will be on the market this year.

The new Outlander made its official debut overseas in February 2021, but is it too late to introduce it to China until now? As a replacement model, the new car continues the design style of the overseas version as a whole, which is quite different from the models on sale. The forward air grille is divided into two parts, of which the upper part uses horizontal chromium plating strips and the bottom is an all-black honeycomb design. At the same time, the headlight group adopts split design and LED light source, the upper light group is LED daytime traffic light / turn light, the middle is LED far / near light, and the lower part is LED front fog lamp, and with the iconic X-type chrome trim, it is thicker and stronger than the old model as a whole. On the side of the body, the A-pillar is painted in bright black, creating the feeling of a suspended roof. In the rear part, the new car is equipped with a two-color roof spoiler, the taillight group is relatively narrow and uses a black lampshade, and the long strip shape of the internal LED also has a good recognition after lighting.

In terms of size, the new Outlander is 4710/1862/1745mm in length, width and height, and 2706mm in wheelbase. As a comparison, the length, width and height of the cash in Euroland are 4705/1810/1710mm and the wheelbase is 2670mm.

In terms of interior decoration, with reference to overseas models, the new Outlander uses a 12.3-inch full liquid crystal dashboard and a four-spoke multi-function steering wheel, and a 9-inch central control multimedia display screen is designed for suspension. The air outlet of the central air conditioner and the air outlet of the passenger side form a penetrating shape, and some physical control buttons are retained in the central control aisle area, together with electronic shift mechanism and knob type driving mode selection keys. The overall collocation makes the new car show a very good technological atmosphere.

Born on the same platform as the new Qijun, the overseas version of the Outlander is equipped with a 2.5L engine with a maximum power of 184 horsepower and a maximum torque of 245N ·m, offering two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models. However, the 2.5L engine is only sold in the North American market and will not be introduced at the same time in China. According to the project of GAC-Mitsubishi "5A45" new model, the 2.4L engine codenamed 4J12 will be discontinued by 2022. While keeping the 2.0L engine codenamed 4J11, the 1.5T engine codenamed 4B40 will be vigorously developed. According to the information available, the new GAC-Mitsubishi Outlander will carry a 1.5T engine.

Data show that Guangzhou Auto-Mitsubishi was founded on May 10, 2012. GAC GROUP, Mitsubishi Automotive Industry Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Commercial Co., Ltd. hold 50%, 9.35% and 40.65% of the shares respectively. According to the official website of GAC-Mitsubishi, there are currently seven models for sale under the brand, including pure electric SUV Artuco, Olander, Xinjin Hyun, Yige and three original imported cars, among which Artuco is the first pure electric SUV of GAC-Mitsubishi. The new car uses a design similar to GAC's Eian AION V model, but at the same time adds Mitsubishi family design style and integrated mileage 520km.

As one of the Japanese car companies, Mitsubishi's performance in the domestic market is far worse than that of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and even Mazda, and the poor market performance in recent years has something to do with the changes of its local development strategy.

As early as the 1970s, Mitsubishi entered the Chinese market by exporting medium-sized trucks, earlier than Volkswagen. In 1996, Mitsubishi cooperated with Hunan Changfeng Group, resulting from Changfeng's military background and its own demand for SUV. In the early days, Mitsubishi introduced the technology of Pajero V31 to China, giving birth to Cheetah SUV, and achieved a peak performance of 145000 vehicles in 2003, but failed to grasp the market development trend.

In 2006, under the lead of Taiwan's China Motor, Mitsubishi invested in Southeast Mitsubishi and established Southeast Mitsubishi, handing over the R & D, manufacturing, sales and after-sales business of imported Mitsubishi cars to Southeast Motor. After obtaining the support of Mitsubishi Automobile, Southeast Mitsubishi successively launched Lanser, Goran, Yishen, Junge, Fengdisi and other models, and the excellent technical reserves brought short-term glory to Mitsubishi sales. However, compared with Toyota finding FAW and GAC, Honda found Dongfeng and GAC, Southeast Motor has obvious disadvantages both in terms of assets and production strength, which also limits Mitsubishi's further breakthrough in the Chinese market. finally, Southeast Motor was gradually abandoned and turned to GAC GROUP.

In May 2012, GAC-Mitsubishi Automobile Co., Ltd. was officially established. After the establishment of the GAC-Mitsubishi joint venture, Mitsubishi Motors focused on GAC-Mitsubishi, while the Southeast-Mitsubishi joint venture model with Southeast gradually withdrew from the market. However, although Mitsubishi found GAC GROUP, there was no obvious qualitative change for Mitsubishi. For a long time, Guangzhou Auto Mitsubishi has a weak sense of presence in GAC GROUP. According to GAC GROUP's sales data, GAC-Mitsubishi sold 66006 vehicles in 2021, down 11.99% from the same period last year, second only to GAC Fick.

From the history of Mitsubishi's development in China, apart from strategic mistakes that led to missing the golden decade of domestic development and the failure to find a more powerful partner, Mitsubishi's product power, brand power and channel vendors are also very worrying. As its main selling model, the first generation of Outlander, which was first introduced and manufactured from Mitsubishi in Beijing in January 2004, has been launched in the Chinese market and has undergone three vehicle upgrades. GAC-Mitsubishi was officially established in May 2012, and the Outlander was not listed in China until September 2016, when the third-generation mid-term modified models were introduced. From the point of view of time, this generation of models have been sold in China for seven years, and their appearance and interior decoration have long been unable to meet the aesthetic requirements of Chinese consumers, but the Outlander is still the main selling model of GAC-Mitsubishi. According to the insurance figures, GAC-Mitsubishi sold 67234 vehicles in 2021, of which the Outlander was 54661.

In recent years, rumors about Mitsubishi's withdrawal from the Chinese market have been simmering. Whether Mitsubishi and GAC will continue to cooperate in the future or exit like Dongfeng Renault and Changan Suzuki, perhaps the market will give the answer. GAC GROUP said earlier that the biggest problem facing Mitsubishi is its single product, which will speed up the upgrading of its models in 2022, and GAC will strengthen its joint venture cooperation and communication with Mitsubishi to promote the development of GAC-Mitsubishi in two to three years.

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