Will Mitsubishi end production of Lancer EVO X after this year?

According to a story by Left Lane, Mitsubishi will wind down production of the Lancer Evolution performance sedan after this year. We know that the 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is getting ready to start production for the U.S. market, but what is in store for the performance cars future? 

According to Left Lane , they report that Japan's Automotive News Daily, says “Mitsubishi will cease building the tenth iteration of its halo sports sedan, the Lancer Evolution X, by the end of this year.” Mitsubishi has confirmed to this writer that they are still committed to introducing the 2015 model year Lancer Evolution in the U.S.  Production of North American-specification Lancer Evolution models for the 2015 model year will commence in July 2014, with deliveries sometime later this year.

Like the Subaru WRX, Lancer Evolution was created for Rally racing and Mitsubishi's rally program took a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine and all-wheel-drive system from the Galant VR-4 and stuffed it into a compact Lancer model. The Lancer EVO instantly became an icon with performance enthusiasts around the globe. It was first sold in Japan and then in the UK and Australia by the mid-1990s.

Lancer Evolution went on to win four consecutive World Rally Championship titles, and cemented its reputation as a true performance car. It made its first launch in the U.S. a year after the WRX in 2003. The performance wars were on and the Lancer EVO and WRX STI became the two leaders in the race for supremacy.

But it looks like Mitsubishi is changing their marketing and strategy to be an eco-friendly car company. Mitsubishi is rebranding itself and intends to concentrate its resources towards developing electric and hybrid vehicles.


While Mitsubishi’s future plans for the Lance EVO are highly confidential, It’s been reported that a future Mitsubishi performance car might utilize a hybrid-electric drivetrain. But the Evolution may get a whole new platform and a new name as the Japanese automaker moves away from its past.

We do know the 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is getting ready to start production for the U.S. market later this year. Will we see a new performance model from Mitsubishi? If we do, it will likely look much different from the current model. Stay tuned to Torque News for the latest Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution news.

Other 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution stories of interest.

• 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution production starts this summer
• 440 hp Special Edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, WRX STI killer announced