Honda and Nissan merge to combat declining fortunes

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Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi are exploring a merger to counter declining sales and the rising electrification costs. This move follows years of declining profitability for Nissan, culminating in a 73% drop in first-quarter 2024 net profit. Nissan's market share has also eroded, particularly in the US electric vehicle market, holding a mere 2.4% share. To address this, Nissan recently announced a restructuring plan involving job cuts and capacity reductions.

A combined entity—led by Honda—could generate significant revenue and operating profit. However, past auto industry mergers have often been unsuccessful due to integration challenges and cultural clashes. This merger aims to avoid these pitfalls by prioritizing a slower integration process and maintaining a holding company structure.

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Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross now offers what3words offline

If you're familiar with what3words, you might appreciate this update. The restyled 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is the first vehicle to support whatwords3 offline without needing data or connectivity. The car's TomTom navigation system comes equipped with what3words' location technology, allowing you to input and get directions to any 3 metre square in the world using just three words. It supports 17 languages, including English, French, Thai, and Finnish.

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Mitsubishi discontinues its I-MiEV EV initiative due to poor sales

Mitsubishi is reportedly discontinuing its i-MiEV hatchback Electric Vehicle due to poor sales. 

Green Car Reports got an official statement from Erica Rasch at Mitsubishi Motors North America who confirmed that “2017 was the last model year for the i-MiEV, and all available retail units have been sold.” This is surprising news given the surge in interest in EVs. Nissan's best-selling Leaf EV is re-upping an all new design for 2018 (plus more range), the Chevy Bolt EV has been met with accolades this year and Tesla seems unstoppable now that it has finally started shipping the Model 3. 

None of those might have been made possible without the Mitsubishi i-MiEV which predated most mass-produced EVs. Mitsubishi started selling them in 2007. 

Source: Jalopnik

Motoring: Mitsubishi's i-MIEV EV sells in Canada, starting at $33,000

Canadian drivers jonesing to lower their carbon footprint and go all-electric now have a 'somewhat' affordable (in the long run?) option. Mitsubishi's i-MIEV electric vehicle. One of the first all electric vehicles to ship in Canada, the i-MIEV features 135 kilometer targeted range on a full charge as well as a top speed of 130 km/h. The cute as abug I-MIEV can be charged a household power source (AC120V, 240V), or in 30 minutes with a quick charger (DC360V). The base model starts at $33,000 while the premium package with leather steering wheel and shift-knob, alloy wheels, a 350 Watt audio system and navigation clocks in at a $35,998.