The automotive industry has largely moved away from lazy rebadges, but once in a while there’s one that brings back memories of Australia’s Button Plan or troubled British Leyland.
Meet the 2026 Nissan Rogue Plug-in Hybrid, which looks absolutely nothing like the regular Nissan Rogue.
That’s because this is just a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, differing only in badging, a grille insert, and the trim between the tail-lights.
It arrives in US dealerships early in 2026, offered with three rows of seating and a choice of two trim levels.
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Amusingly, Nissan’s press release makes no mention of the Outlander whatsoever, nor does it offer any explanation as to why this looks so different from the regular Rogue.
The Rogue is the US-built cousin to the X-Trail sold in Australia, and the Nissan duo and the Mitsubishi Outlander all share the same platform.
Nissan chose to simply rebadge the Mitsubishi instead of try and incorporate its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology in its related Rogue. The company’s well-publicised financial issues are likely to blame here, with a simple rebadge allowing Nissan to bring the vehicle to market much more quickly.
The Rogue PHEV fills a gap in Nissan’s American lineup for a mid-size hybrid SUV, as the Rogue isn’t offered yet in the US with the e-Power series-hybrid powertrain that’s available in the Australian-market X-Trail. It’s also Nissan’s first plug-in hybrid in the US market.
However, it’s based on the pre-update Outlander PHEV, not the refreshed model revealed last year featuring a larger battery and higher-output powertrain.
It comes with a 96kW/195Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine mated with 85kW/255Nm and 100kW/195Nm electric motors front and rear, for total system outputs of 182kW and 450Nm. The updated Outlander PHEV, in contrast, pumps out 225kW in total.
There’s a 20kWh lithium-ion battery, and not the new 22.7kWh pack offered in the updated Outlander PHEV. Claimed electric-only range is 61km.
The Rogue PHEV also misses out on various new features in the updated Outlander PHEV, including ventilated front seats and a Yamaha sound system. It also still has the old 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen and not the new 12.3-inch unit.
While Nissan puts its badging on vehicles from other brands and vice versa, such badge-engineering is typically limited to kei cars and commercial vehicles such as vans.
Rebadged Nissan SUVs such as the Terrano, a Dacia Duster relative, are sold in markets where their twins aren’t currently offered.
That’s not the case with the new Rogue PHEV, which will be sold in the US where the Outlander PHEV is also sold.
It’s reminiscent of the so-called Button car industry plan in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s, when the Ford Falcon ute was sold as the Nissan Ute and Ford got the Patrol in return as the Maverick, as well the mid-size Pintara sedan and hatch as the (thankfully more differentiated) Corsair.
While Nissan has rebadged a Mitsubishi and expended minimal effort to distinguish it, Mitsubishi has been on the other end of this.
Its new ASX is a Renault Captur with only the subtlest of exterior differentiation, while the Colt is a rebadged Clio, the Grandis is a Renault Symbioz, and the new Eclipse Cross is a Renault Scenic.
MORE: Explore the Mitsubishi Outlander showroom
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