While a new Chinese model is launched here every week, another popular Japanese car leaves us. Kamobil, Mitsubishi's importer, recently finished selling the stock of Mitsubishi ASX models, ending its marketing in Israel after 8 years.
The ASX was launched globally in 2010, but only began arriving in Israel through regular imports after a facelift in 2017, as a small 5-seat family crossover, cheaper than the Outlander and Pajero.
It arrived here with American specifications and in a configuration unusual for its size, with a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine producing 150 hp. With a length of 4.36 meters, it offered family space, and despite its age, it came with active safety systems. The ASX stood out with a relatively tall height of 1.64 meters and a ground clearance of 22 cm, helping it on trails, as far as its front-wheel drive allowed. In 2019, it underwent another facelift.
This year, Kamobil delivered about 700 units, and currently around 17,000 ASX cars are on Israel’s roads. With its older systems, the model demonstrates above-average reliability.
In 2016, Mitsubishi even announced it would launch a completely new ASX successor in 2019—but the Japanese manufacturer’s economic and management difficulties led to the model never entering series production. In Europe, Mitsubishi switched to selling a series of models based on Renault vehicles, which Renault also manufactures for them, as part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.
Thus, in Europe and Australia, the ASX being sold is essentially a Renault Captur with slightly different styling, alongside the Mitsubishi Colt (Renault Clio) and Mitsubishi Grandis (Renault Symbioz, not yet launched in Israel).
For now, the new ASX will not arrive in Israel. Mitsubishi, which lost the legendary Pajero in the country seven years ago and the Triton pickup three years ago, will remain with only two models: The Eclipse Cross and Outlander, which are also marketed in the U.S. and whose production will continue.