Sayonara! Mitsubishi ends Mirage production for Japan

The subcompact Mitsubishi Mirage may be a strong seller in the Philippines, but it’s saying “Sayonara” in its home country.

Mitsubishi Motors announced on its Japanese website that it would no longer be producing the Mirage for the Japanese market.

“Due to the end of production of the Mirage, we may not be able to meet the customer’s request for body color, options, etc.,” the Japanese carmaker said in a translated message.

It remains unclear what would replace the Mirage in the Japanese market. One potential successor is the upcoming 2023 Mitsubishi Colt, which is based on the current-generation Renault Clio.

Over a decade old

The sixth-generation Mitsubishi Mirage was unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, with sales starting on April 2012 for the hatchback and June 2013 for the sedan.

It is one of the few cars that Mitsubishi makes that is largely unchanged in global markets, whether it’s in the Philippines or the United States.

The Mirage is powered by either a 1.0-liter or 1.2-liter, twin-cam, 12-valve inline-3 gasoline engine. The Philippines gets the latter powerplant, pumping out 78 PS and 100 Nm of torque.

In addition, the Mirage hatchback and Mirage G4 sedan are both produced locally under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program.

The CARS Program, which was created under Executive Order 182 of the late former President Benigno Aquino III, aims to revitalize the local car industry by providing ₱9 billion of government subsidies to each qualified manufacturer over six years. 

Each carmaker must produce at least 200,000 units each in that period, with the majority of parts also produced in locally.

Aside from Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, Toyota Motor Philippines is also part of the program with the popular Toyota Vios subcompact sedan.

However, carmakers are pushing to extend the program in light of production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, along with reduced demand for cars because of higher excise taxes under the government’s tax-reform law.

With the current Mirage now rather long in the tooth, is it time to retire it for good in other markets?