News of Mitsubishi's rebadging of Renault-Samsung vehicles for the US market is being greeted with far less enthusiasm around these parts than one would expect the internet to greet news of any French vehicles coming to America. One angle that isn't being explored much comes from commenter callisall, who writes
if anyone else was scratching your head (like I was) about how Mitsu makes money in the USA, Mitsu is the third largest seller of cars to subprime borrowers behind Chrysler and Dodge.
So by outsourcing its R&D and focusing on the subprime market (and perhaps parts for its cars), it looks like Mitsu can make its US operations worthwhile.
Industry observers know that R&D is the most expensive part of new vehicle development, and by rebadging Renault-Samsung vehicles as their own, Mitsubishi gets to skip out on this very expensive exercises while getting proven technology that's already been on the market for a few years. Is it possible that other Mitsubishi-derived vehicles like the Outlander could become variants of some Renault-Nissan project? Perhaps.
from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com
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