Geneva show: Mitsubishi ASX facelift on the way

MITSUBISHI will introduce the facelifted version of its ASX crossover to Australia despite the ongoing sales success of the crossover in its current six-year-old guise.

When the facelifted version of the ASX was revealed at last year's Los Angeles motor show, Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) said at the time it had not confirmed the refreshed look for Australia and highlighted the ongoing sales success of the ASX in its existing guise.

The confirmation of the facelifted ASX follows an announcement that the Japanese car-maker will reveal an evolution of the crossover and its Triton stablemate at the Geneva motor show next month.

The pair of design study experiments appear in a single shady shot showing them wearing “mid-grey livery” with orange highlights on the wheels, bumpers, door mirrors and side steps.

It is not known if the concepts showcase anything other than simply aesthetic tweaks, or if they will form the basis of special edition variants down the track.

In addition to the Triton and ASX showcars that target “urban adventurers”, Mitsubishi will also wheel out the eX Concept for a second public appearance, following its debut at the Tokyo motor show last year.

In its current form, the ASX's ageing styling does not appear to be harming the model's public perception with the crossover narrowly pulling away from the Mazda CX-3 in January sales by just two units, rounding out the month with 1393 registrations versus 1391.

MMAL head of corporate communications Shayna Welsh confirmed that the new look was on its way but the arrival date was yet to be decided.

“It's going to appear on ASX in time, in the Dynamic Shield design, but the timing for Australia hasn't been finalised as yet,” she said. “We will likely follow other markets.”

The facelifted ASX carries Mitsubishi's latest design language, dubbed Dynamic Shield and has already launched in the United States but is yet to roll out in other markets including Europe and the United Kingdom.

Ms Welsh explained that the model's January success may have been helped by a free automatic transmission deal that the Japanese car-maker ran in December.

“We had free auto in December and I think there are probably some sales carried through in January.”

With strong sales of the current model likely to continue, Ms Welsh said the company would “not necessarily” be delaying the arrival of the evolved styling to maximise sales of existing stock which wears the now outdated front end.

“Not necessarily. It's certainly working well for us at the moment and we will be timing the update to maximise the sales momentum. Also, we've got to fit in with global demand.

“In its current form it is pretty successful for us, we are very happy with the styling. We are pretty happy with how it is all going.”