Last month, Nissan had no hybrid models for sale in America. Zip, zilch, nada. Quite the position to be in for the brand that once made an Altima Hybrid and a Pathfinder Hybrid. However, that’s about to change. A Nissan Rogue Plug-In Hybrid is coming in hot, just a year after Nissan announced its intention to sell an electrified compact crossover stateside. So, how did Nissan get a plug-in hybrid to market so quickly? With two scoops of help from Mitsubishi, of course.
See, thanks to the magic of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, the current Mitsubishi Outlander rides on the same platform as the Nissan Rogue and is available as a surprisingly good plug-in hybrid. Instead of Nissan spending huge money and time on developing its own plug-in hybrid system, the brand’s decided to fast-track things by borrowing from its business partner. The thing is, like Mitsubishi’s Renault-based European-market models, Nissan has basically adopted the Outlander PHEV wholesale.
On first glance, it’s apparent Nissan has changed the faux grille, the cap on the tailgate, the badges and … that’s about it. Okay, so it appears to be rocking facelift Outlander taillights with red lenses rather than clear ones, but otherwise? This is unmistakably a Mitsubishi. The regular Rogue doesn’t even share the same surfacing as this thing. While changing plastic parts is generally a cheap and quick way of hurrying a rebadge into showrooms, there’s a whiff of old GM about the process.
Under the hood, it’s all Mitsubishi. You get the same 2.4-liter 4B12 naturally-aspirated inline-four, same motor setup, same 20 kWh lithium-ion battery pack as the pre-facelift model. Actually, it’s not quite all the same. The Outlander PHEV can DC fast charge through a CHAdeMO connector, while the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid makes no such claims. Plus, the Outlander is getting a slightly larger battery pack for 2026, so that’ll likely tip the scales. Either way, Nissan claims the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid can do 38 miles on a charge before the gasoline engine kicks in, which sounds about right because it’s exactly what the Outlander PHEV can do.
Inside, the gauge cluster has been subtly reskinned in a grey-green hue, the steering wheel airbag has a Nissan badge on it, and that’s the extent of the changes. That’s no huge hardship because the cabin of a megaspec Outlander PHEV is a nice place to be with quilted textiles, plenty of buttons, an occasional use third row, and toys like a panoramic moonroof and wireless smartphone charging. Still, the updated 2026 Outlander PHEV will also get a range of Yamaha audio systems, which means the Bose setup in the Rogue Plug-in Hybrid will technically be a downgrade. That’s a bit disappointing, especially since Nissan’s plug-in will only be available in SL and Platinum trims, or near-loaded and loaded.
But will this rebadge gambit pay off for Nissan? Ideally, the Rogue Plug-in Hybrid will need to sell at a substantial discount because not only is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV available in cheaper trims and getting a bigger battery pack for 2026, but it also comes with a decade-long powertrain warranty. Oh, and if you’re okay with the pre-facelift model and the smaller battery pack, Mitsubishi is throwing incentives at it like zero percent financing for five years and a $1,000 rebate if you either drive a Mitsubishi or drive a car that isn’t a Mitsubishi.
So, on the face of things, the Nissan Rogue Plug-in Hybrid is a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with fewer available speakers, no boast of DC fast charging, no true base trim level, and the pre-facelift 20 kWh battery pack. If it gets Nissan’s standard powertrain warranty, it’ll also have about half the time and 40,000 fewer miles on the powertrain warranty. While it’s sure to be a good car because the Outlander PHEV is great family transportation, it seems like this Rogue may be a hard sell to those with a local Mitsubishi dealer. Still, we’ll have to wait for pricing to drop before making the call. Considering it’s expected to reach showrooms early next year, we won’t be twiddling our thumbs for long.
Top graphic image: Nissan
At least you get the 8 year/100000 mile warranty for the hybrid components.
Wow… Rodger Smith would be proud.
The Dodge Attitude sold in Mexico that still had the Hyundai badges gets my vote as laziest rebadge.
It gets the foot in the door and at least gets them in the conversation with hybrids/PHEVs especially as the new RAV4 rolls out. It’s primarily a stopgap so I think it makes sense to limit the number of trims to where the volume of sales area anyway. My closest Mitsu dealer shows 15 PHEVs but only 3 are the base ES.
You know Nissans in a bad spot when they have to rebadge a mitsubishi. Just ask Chrysler how that went.
Actually the old Chrysler-Mitsubishi partnership went quite well for both companies.
From that deal, the old Chrysler got reliable/affordable Japanese cars that undercut Honda/Toyota on price.
We also got the DSM cars.
And Mitsubishi benefited because they were able to share development costs for a lot of models, engines, powertrains and other stuff and have higher volumes than they would have had on their own.
It’s really a shame that Mercedes fucked up that relationship which screwed both the old Chrysler as well as Mitsubishi.
The dodge/plymoth colts were some of the most reliable things you could buy from Chrysler in the late 1980s early 1990s.
Closest Mitsubishi dealer to me is like 50 minutes away, so Nissan offering this isn’t such a bad thing.
I’m also in awe of how much badge engineering went into this. Even the freaking Hornet was given more changes.
I’m kinda considering a used Outlander PHEV as my next ride someday if I get a non-Mazda. My in-laws’ leased one and loved it.
I am genuinely curious to see how the resale values differ between the Nissan and Mitsubishi versions.
Mitsubishi: hey make it look like you didn’t copy my homework
Nissan: *shows off new Rogue*
Mitsubishi: *shakes head in disappointment*
Will likely be more expensive than the Mitsubishi too. They shoulda tripled down and made in an Infiniti.
Not a bad move. Considering there are far more Nissan dealers than Mitsu dealers, this will help move the metal. The lack of fast charging isn’t a loss given how Chademo ports are actively being removed now that everyone is going to NACS.
Neither of these vehicles would last 15 minutes in the Outlands
Sure they will. Just arrive to the edge of the Outlands and leave it parked… it’ll last for at least 15 minutes in that use case!
…is it bad that SUVs and Crossovers are so generic nowadays that I neither caught the lazy rebadge…nor actually care?
Yeah, this is 80s/90s GM badge engineering bad. Most Mitsubishi dealerships also sell Nissans, so why are they even bothering?
Even at the height of GM’s badge engineering, it actually gave it’s cars unique, but very similar, sheet metal. The A bodies shared glass, but got unique fenders and taillights.
The A-bodies even had two different glass treatments until the ’89 roof redo: the bottom corner of the rear quarter windows were curved on the Olds and Pontiac, and squared off on the Chevy and Buick. Too subtle a difference? Sure, but it’s still more than what Nissan has done here.
Guess we’re back to the Suzuki Sidekick rebadging of the 90’s here.
So long as they don’t try passing that off as a Suzuki Sidekick, and despoiling that fine name!
I’d just take the Mitsubishi with a lot better warranty
Sorry Nissan, you lose again
Damn this is phoned in. The only interesting thing is if it’s being built in any of Nissan’s factories in the US. I suspect not, which means they’re paying tariffs just like Mitsubishi is. If they could avoid those and drop the price below what Mitsubishi is offering, it might have a reason to exist.
EDIT: There will be one other difference in 2026. I believe the Outlander is switching to a Mitsu-built 1.5T and away from the Nissan mill.
This is unbelievably lazy. I figured that the title picture was a photoshop but nope, it’s real! The Outlander PHEV is a surprisingly decent car though, and I guess Nissan has more name recognition than Mitsubishi at this stage? Regardless, people with 500 credit scores who need a hauler and want to reduce their carbon footprint are in luck!
isn’t the what the Rogue is for? minus the reduced carbon that is.
This is at least a little bigger and offers usable EV driving range
Yes!
And the production is built, so this is a great way to hopefully move more outlanders.
I like it!
Nissan network is much bigger than Mitsubishi for sure.
The perfect car for people who don’t know Mitsubishi’s warranty is twice as long!
I was going to say “Would it have killed them to at least try to more closely adhere to the design of the Rouge that they just refreshed?” but given the state of Nissan these days, it very well might have killed them.
When I hear lazy rebadge the VW Routan pops into my head.
had a 2010 Routan 4L for a decade before trading it in for an Orlando a couple of years ago
The Routan got new rear glass, lights, front end, and a different dashboard at least.
I specifically said that the Routan pops into my head. I did not insist it was the laziest or that changes were not done all.
I know you didn’t insist that. The Routan is one of the first rebadges that pops into my head as well. I was just commenting on Nissans low effort here.
Thanks! have a good taco tuesday!
Can’t see why it wouldn’t work. The Outlander PHEV sells well enough for Mitsubishi, but you have to know about it. At this point Mitsubishi is only known by people within a 20-30 miles of the dealership who see local advertising, so most shoppers won’t have any idea it’s a re-badge.
This is a key point here. Nissan has a much wider dealer network, at least 3x in the US and 2x in Canada. This gives Mitsu a much wider distribution network, even if they concentrate it to certain states or regions. The Outlander being more up-to-date and longer warrantied is great if you’re close to a Mitsu dealer, but you might pass at least 2 Nissan dealers to get to one.
The Nissan Rogue PHEV – for people who don’t have a poor credit score.
It is lazy, but Nissan is also desperate for hybrids so I get it. I also don’t think the general car buying populace even knows or cares that it’s a rebadge, and at least the car it’s rebadging is actually pretty decent. Nissan absolutely needs more hybrids yesterday, but it’s not a bad stopgap solution IMO.
your next rental car
Except they’d have to sell off the Mitsubishi PHEVs that are already on the rental lot…
I’ve had one as a rental. It actually wasn’t half bad, for a rental anyway. My favorite is the Bronco Sport though, when I can find one.
Just when you thought the Alfa Tonale to Dodge Hornet rebadge was the laziest rebadge possible…