Mitsubishi's Getting Back in the EV Game With Nissan Leaf–Based Creation
You might not remember the first Mitsubishi EV sold here—and that's probably for the best.
Mitsubishi is in the midst of an ambitious product renaissance, and it's now elaborating on the first of its "new or significantly revised vehicle" models due every year or so from 2026 until 2030—and it's an all-electric, Nissan-based creation. Now, you're forgiven for not remembering Mitsubishi's first EV sold here in America, the i-MiEV. Besides its name sounding like a Russian-language virtual assistant (i-MiEV, navigate to Moscow!), it was closer to a golf cart or low-speed neighborhood vehicle than a real car.
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The new Mitsubishi EV will definitely be a real car, because it'll be based on a very real new Nissan: The upcoming 2026 Nissan Leaf. Rarely are corporate partners—as Mitsubishi and Nissan are—so frank in acknowledging a given model's sourcing from another company, but here's Mitsu's own announcement about its new EV:
"Today’s announcement confirms that Mitsubishi Motors will work with its Alliance partner, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., to bring a battery electric vehicle (BEV) to market in the United States and Canada. The vehicle will be based on the next-generation Nissan Leaf, and will be available starting in summer 2026, at dealer partners across both countries."
There you have it! If you peer closely enough at the photo at the top of this page, you can see some clear resemblances between the darkened Mitsubishi EV and the upcoming Leaf, particularly in the headlight shape and overall vehicle profile. If the current Outlander (based on the Nissan Rogue SUV) is anything to go by, the Mitsubishi will be sufficiently distinct, visually, from its Nissan sibling.
So far, details on the new Mitsubishi are scarce—but they're similarly thin for the Leaf, which has been previewed by Nissan but not outlined completely. We're expecting at least 300 miles of range, as well as compatibility with Tesla Superchargers thanks to its built-in NACS charge port. Look for more info on the Mitsubishi EV (as well as the Leaf) later this year.
A lifelong car enthusiast, I stumbled into this line of work essentially by accident after discovering a job posting for an intern position at Car and Driver while at college. My start may have been a compelling alternative to working in a University of Michigan dining hall, but a decade and a half later, here I am reviewing cars; judging our Car, Truck, and Performance Vehicle of the Year contests; and shaping MotorTrend’s daily coverage of the automotive industry.
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