{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "$type": "com.atproto.repo.strongRef",
    "cid": "bafyreid4476q4ys4odpslavgujmxjyglt6ohqcinf4mege7wow6h2n4fiy",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:2s32mlusc66sjb256aenynfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnx3x3rbdm2p"
  },
  "contributors": [
    {
      "did": "did:plc:ft47ossanieozukpgh2utd2x",
      "displayName": "Chad Kirchner"
    }
  ],
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreiavwy4upjustns2mup4pokigiffsfxgbxjul4zdwvpuksr7gilqym"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 39438
  },
  "description": "Mitsubishi Motors has revealed the first images of the 2027 Eclipse Sportback, a subcompact electric SUV that will be the brand's first all-new battery-electric vehicle in the North American market in more than a decade. The vehicle is built in",
  "path": "/news/mitsubishi-reveals-the-2027-eclipse-sportback-a-nissan-leaf-based-electric-subcompact-suv",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-10T16:04:21+00:00",
  "site": "at://did:plc:2s32mlusc66sjb256aenynfc/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "Mitsubishi"
  ],
  "textContent": "Mitsubishi Motors has revealed the first images of the 2027 Eclipse Sportback, a subcompact electric SUV that will be the brand’s first all-new battery-electric vehicle in the North American market in more than a decade. The vehicle is built in partnership with Nissan as part of the long-running Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and is based on the next-generation Nissan Leaf, which Mitsubishi describes as the underlying architecture for its sister product. Mitsubishi Motors North America says the Eclipse Sportback will go on sale in the second half of 2026, with formal pricing, technical specifications, and on-sale dates to follow.\n\nFor Mitsubishi customers in the United States, the announcement closes a long gap in the brand’s electric vehicle lineup and represents the first concrete delivery against a product strategy the company has been outlining for the past year. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which launched globally in 2009 and arrived in the United States and Canada in late 2011, was the company’s only previous fully electric retail product in North America, and it was discontinued nearly a decade ago. Since then, Mitsubishi’s electrification story in the United States has been carried by the Outlander plug-in hybrid, with no battery electric vehicle in the lineup.\n\nA Nissan Leaf with Mitsubishi clothes\n\nPhoto credit: Mitsubishi\n\nThe Eclipse Sportback shares its platform and most of its underlying hardware with the new-generation Nissan Leaf, which launched in 2025 as a subcompact crossover rather than the hatchback shape that defined the first two Leaf generations. The third-generation Nissan Leaf is priced from $31,485 and rated for up to 303 miles of EPA range, and it includes a native NACS charging port that allows direct access to the Tesla Supercharger network. Mitsubishi has not confirmed pricing or range for the Eclipse Sportback, but the donor vehicle’s specifications offer the most reliable reference point for what to expect.\n\nThe arrangement was first signaled in May 2025, when Mitsubishi confirmed it would source a new battery electric vehicle from Alliance partner Nissan, based on the next-generation Leaf. The June 9, 2026 announcement names the vehicle, sets a sale window of late summer or early fall 2026, and gives the first design preview. According to Mitsubishi, the Eclipse Sportback will be differentiated from the Leaf through unique front and rear fascias, distinct front and rear lighting elements, sportier alloy wheels, and the company’s Triple Diamond badge. The underlying mechanical hardware, including the battery pack, electric motor, and platform, will be shared with the Leaf.\n\nThis kind of badge-and-fascia engineering between Alliance partners is not new. Mitsubishi has historically shared platforms with Nissan and Renault to deliver products that would otherwise be uneconomical for the smaller Japanese brand to develop on its own. Reusing the Leaf as a starting point allows Mitsubishi to add a battery electric crossover to its North American lineup without committing to a full ground-up development program.\n\nWhat the Eclipse name signals\n\nThe Eclipse nameplate has a long history in North America. The first Mitsubishi Eclipse was a front-drive sport coupe that launched in 1990, jointly produced at the Diamond Star Motors plant in Normal, Illinois, alongside Chrysler. Four generations of coupes were produced through 2012, after which Mitsubishi retired the nameplate for several years before reviving it in 2017 as the Eclipse Cross, a small crossover SUV that has remained in the lineup outside the United States. Using the Eclipse name for an electric subcompact SUV continues the trajectory of moving the badge further away from its sport-coupe roots, while keeping a name with some brand recognition among older Mitsubishi customers.\n\nThe Sportback qualifier is intended to signal that the new vehicle leans toward a sportier silhouette than the standalone Eclipse Cross. The teaser images released today show a crossover with a sloped rear roofline, slim daytime running light signatures, and a more sculpted front end than the Leaf donor, although both vehicles share the same overall body proportions and packaging.\n\nWhere it fits in Mitsubishi’s broader plan\n\nPhoto credit: Mitsubishi\n\nThe Eclipse Sportback is part of Mitsubishi’s Momentum 2030 strategic plan, which the company has framed around four pillars, including a path to electrification, a refreshed and expanded product line, a modernized retail experience, and stronger dealer-network engagement. Mitsubishi Motors North America has committed to launching at least one new or significantly refreshed vehicle each year through fiscal year 2030, with the goal of nearly doubling its current four-vehicle US lineup. The Eclipse Sportback is the next major product under that plan, and the company has previewed that it will be followed in early 2027 by a rugged off-road derivative of the 2026 Outlander plug-in hybrid, the brand’s volume product in the United States.\n\nMitsubishi has emphasized its longer history with electrification as part of the framing for the Eclipse Sportback launch. The company began developing electric vehicles in Japan in the 1970s, and the i-MiEV is generally credited as the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle when it went on sale in select markets in 2009. The Outlander plug-in hybrid launched globally in 2012 and reached North America in 2018. Despite that history, Mitsubishi has not been a leader in US electrified vehicle sales since the i-MiEV era, and the Eclipse Sportback is the brand’s most significant attempt yet to reposition itself in the category.\n\nWhat is still unannounced\n\nMitsubishi has not yet released pricing, range, battery capacity, motor output, charging speeds, or trim-level details for the Eclipse Sportback, and the press release defers all of those questions to a future announcement. Based on the donor Leaf, prospective buyers can reasonably expect a starting price near or modestly above the Leaf’s $31,485 figure, EPA range somewhere in the 240 to 303 mile band depending on battery choice, fast-charging capability through a native NACS port, and a single-motor front-wheel-drive layout with the option of a dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant.\n\nWhether the Eclipse Sportback delivers on Mitsubishi’s broader US growth ambitions will depend on how the brand prices, equips, and positions the vehicle relative to the Nissan Leaf. Sharing a platform across two Alliance brands lowers development cost, but it also means the two vehicles need to be visually and functionally different enough to justify both showroom positions. Mitsubishi has indicated that pricing, full specifications, and on-sale dates will follow in the coming weeks.",
  "title": "Mitsubishi reveals the 2027 Eclipse Sportback, a Nissan Leaf-based electric subcompact SUV",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-10T16:04:23+00:00"
}