Mitsubishi is bringing a fully electric vehicle back to North America for the first time in over a decade, and it’s calling the 2027 Eclipse Sportback EV “all-new.”
It isn’t. The Eclipse Sportback is a rebadged next-generation Nissan Leaf, sourced from Mitsubishi’s Alliance partner and reskinned with new bumpers and lights.
Mitsubishi confirmed the vehicle in a press release, describing it as “the global debut of an all-new fully electric vehicle” that will launch across the US and Canada in late summer or early fall 2026, sold through roughly 300 dealer partners in the US.
The company is upfront about where it comes from, at least. The release says the Eclipse Sportback EV is “sourced from Mitsubishi Motors’ Alliance partner Nissan Motor Co, based on the next-generation Nissan LEAF.” So “all-new” is doing a lot of work here.
What Mitsubishi actually changed
Not much under the skin. Mitsubishi gives the Eclipse Sportback its own front and rear fascias, a different lighting signature, sporty alloy wheels, and Triple Diamond badging. That’s the extent of it.
Everything mechanical is Leaf. The specs Mitsubishi has shared — a 75 kWh liquid-cooled battery, a native NACS port for Tesla Superchargers, and 150 kW DC fast charging that takes it from 10% to 80% in about 35 minutes — are identical to the reborn 2026 Nissan Leaf we drove last year. Same numbers, same hardware.
This isn’t a surprise. We reported in March that Mitsubishi was developing a Leaf-based EV for a summer launch, after prototypes were spotted testing with light camouflage. Now it has a name and a face.
Mitsubishi still doesn’t have its own EV
Mitsubishi hasn’t sold a real EV in the US since the tiny i-MiEV was discontinued years ago. Its current green push runs through the Outlander PHEV, a plug-in hybrid. So rather than spend years and billions developing an electric crossover from scratch, it’s borrowing one from Nissan and wearing it. This is exactly the kind of badge-engineering the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance exists to enable.
It’s interesting that the company decided to use the Eclipse name. It used to belong to a sport coupe, then got recycled for the Eclipse Cross crossover. Now it’s stretched onto a rebadged Leaf. The nameplate keeps moving; the substance keeps shrinking.
Mitsubishi hasn’t announced range or pricing yet, which are the two numbers buyers actually care about. On the Leaf, EPA range runs from 303 miles on the base S+ down to 259 miles on the top Platinum+ trim, and Nissan starts it at $29,990. Expect Mitsubishi to land somewhere near that, likely a bit higher for the styling.
Electrek’s Take
There’s nothing wrong with a rebadge. The Leaf is a genuinely good, affordable EV now, and putting it in more showrooms through more brands is good for EV adoption. If you like the way the Eclipse Sportback looks better than the Leaf, buy it.
The bigger issue is what this says about Mitsubishi. A rebadge is a fine stopgap, but it’s not a strategy. Nissan controls the platform, the battery, the software, and the roadmap. Mitsubishi controls the grille. If the Alliance ever reshuffles, Mitsubishi is left with a nameplate and no EV. For now it gets a competitive electric crossover without doing the hard part. The question is whether it ever plans to.
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