HM-Mitsubishi has been establishing showrooms across India since the last few years, which will allow the new Mitsubishi Lancer to be launched two years hence, in 2014. A major reason for not launching the vehicle soon is the global financial crisis, which has restricted Mitsubishi from concentrating on new vehicles. The two Lancers currently available in India are the fifth generation Lancer and the sixth generation Lancer Cedia.
The next generation Mitsubishi Lancer concept is expected to be showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2013. It would be a completely new vehicle, without any resemblance to the current generation Lancer. Mitsuyoshi Hattori, who is the person in charge for this vehicle project and had also headed the Mitsubishi Outlander project, says that the next Lancer could be a hybrid. It is said that all designs will be unique, and will not have any blanket design pattern.
Previous Lancers had been upgraded every five years, but the current generation is to complete a seven-year tenure. As of now, the seventh generation Lancer is being sold in international markets. The current Lancer is available in two fuel versions- a 1.5 litre Petrol LX and a 2.0 Litre Diesel LX. The petrol version produces a maximum power output of 86 bhp, and the diesel produces 67 bhp, despite having a bigger engine. Suspension of the vehicle has been toughened as per rally specifications, since the Lancer has regularly been used for car rallies across the world.
Though the car is solidly built, it looks quite simple from the outside, and this is expected to change by 2014.
