Insider: Mitsubishi to launch rebadged Nissan NV350 Urvan in PH

Yes, that headline is correct. According to a contact of ours who is very well informed of the goings on with the brand's product pipeline in the country, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) is planning a new model soon.

It will be a van and no it won't be a new variant of the L300. It won't be a new generation Delica either as that model is still years away. Instead, the new model will be a badge-engineered derivative of the Nissan NV350 Urvan.

Should we call it the Mitsubishi L350 then?

Sharing logistics, platforms, and even whole models between Nissan and Mitsubishi is not a new thing; the two are partners after all in the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance, and (last we checked) Nissan has held the biggest stake in Mitsubishi Motors since 2016. A good example would be how the new Triton uses the same supplier as Nissan for the infotainment unit and dash display.

Even whole models are rebadged thanks to the partnership, and Nissan is even marketing a version of the Xpander as the Livina. So rebadging an Urvan shouldn't come as a surprise.

There is also precedent for other automakers rebadging the NV350 Urvan/Caravan as their own in other markets. Isuzu, for instance, has a history of rebadging the Caravan as the Isuzu Fargo and later generations as the Isuzu Como.

The interesting part is the other rebadge with Mitsubishi Fuso, as they offered a rebadged NV350 as the Fuso Canter Van in other markets. But given that Mitsubishi Motors Corporation already transferred the shares they had in Fuso to Daimler, this won't be related to that. This will be a Mitsubishi thing with Nissan.

As to what the vehicle will look like, we expect there to only be minimal changes with the look of the vehicle. When rebadging a car, it's more cost-effective to just change minor exterior details like bumpers, headlights, wheels, and the like. They will not alter any of the sheet metal as that would mean engineering a new jig for the stamping process. That would defeat the purpose of the badge-engineering practice.

What's also interesting is that there are versions of the NV350 that are already powered by Mitsubishi engines. If we were to make a guess, they would likely offer those models in our market; at least that way it's Mitsubishi powered.

As to the launch date, we were informed that the plan for the Mitsubishi “L350” is to be sometime in Q1 2025. Let's see what comes out of this project.