Mitsubishi unveiled the ASX VR-e, a new electric SUV featuring up to 400 hp [1], in Australia this month.
The launch marks Mitsubishi's return to the electric vehicle market, but the vehicle's origins suggest a shift in how the company develops its fleet. Rather than an in-house design, the SUV relies on external partnerships for its core architecture.
The ASX VR-e is built on a platform supplied by Foxconn [2]. While it carries the Mitsubishi badge and revives the VR nameplate, the vehicle is not a genuine Mitsubishi model in terms of engineering [3]. The body of the SUV was designed by the Italian firm Pininfarina [3].
Industry observers said that the vehicle shares little with previous ASX models. While the name denotes its size and positioning as a small SUV, it does not share a platform or powertrain with the Renault-based predecessors [2]. The VR-e is fully electric, whereas earlier versions relied on internal combustion engines [2].
This partnership allows Mitsubishi to enter the EV space quickly without the lead time required for proprietary platform development. By utilizing a Foxconn-supplied model, the company can deploy a high-performance vehicle to the Australian market while leveraging established third-party manufacturing and design expertise [2].
Despite the branding, the lack of Mitsubishi-developed hardware distinguishes the VR-e from the brand's traditional lineup. The vehicle serves as a strategic entry point into the crossover EV segment, prioritizing speed of delivery over internal engineering [3].
“The ASX VR-e is built on a platform supplied by Foxconn.”
The reveal of the ASX VR-e signals a transition toward 'badge engineering' for Mitsubishi's electric transition. By outsourcing the platform to Foxconn and the styling to Pininfarina, Mitsubishi is prioritizing market presence and rapid deployment over proprietary technology. This approach reduces R&D costs but risks diluting the brand's identity as a manufacturer of its own engineering solutions.
