Soueast Delica: the Mitsubishi van under a Chinese badge

The Soueast Delica is the Chinese-market version of the Mitsubishi Delica, the cab-over van that Mitsubishi Motors has produced since 1968. Soueast sold it under its own badge, but the body, layout and name all come from the Japanese van, which in Europe was better known as the L300 and later the L400.

Soueast Delica at a glance

English Wikipedia has no separate article on the Soueast Delica; the model is described on the page about the Mitsubishi Delica, on which this article is based.

History of the Soueast Delica

The name and the family

The Delica is one of Mitsubishi’s oldest commercial nameplates. Production of the light cab-over pickup began in July 1968, and a cargo van and a nine-seat passenger van followed a year later. The name is a contraction of the English phrase “Delivery car”, which explains the practical, load-first character of every generation since. Abroad the same vehicles were sold under a string of names: L300 and later L400 in Europe, Express and Starwagon in Australia, and plain Mitsubishi Van and Wagon in the United States.

The second generation of 1979 widened the concept. The new van filled the Japanese “compact” class to its full 1,690 mm, used independent wishbone suspension at the front and leaf springs at the rear, and offered sliding side doors and a one-piece tailgate on gas struts. In 1982 Mitsubishi added four-wheel drive, the first in the Japanese van market, using a modified Pajero chassis. Engines ranged from 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrol units to a 2.3-litre diesel that was replaced by a 2.5-litre in 1986.

Star Wagon and Space Gear

Passenger versions of the Delica were sold in Japan as the Delica Star Wagon from 1979. In 1994 that name gave way to the Delica Space Gear, which in Europe became simply the Space Gear; it was this later, more rounded generation that established the Delica as a family and leisure vehicle as much as a working van. The commercial versions continued alongside the passenger cars, and in most markets several generations were on sale at the same time.

The Chinese version

In China the van was assembled and sold by Soueast, the Fujian-based manufacturer that built several Mitsubishi models under its own badge. The Soueast Delica keeps the cab-over body and the van layout of the Japanese car and differs mainly in badges and in the local equipment. Like the original, it was offered as a passenger minibus and as a commercial van, which made it a common sight as both a family car and a small business vehicle.

Design and features

• Cab-over layout: the engine sits under the cab, so the whole length of the body is available for passengers or cargo.
• Sliding side doors: a practical arrangement for tight parking and for loading in narrow streets.
• Van and minibus bodies: the same shell served as a commercial van and as a passenger carrier.
• Four-wheel drive in the family: Mitsubishi offered 4WD Delicas from 1982, a rarity among vans of the period.
• Long model life: the name has been in continuous production since 1968, with several generations sold side by side.

Soueast Delica versions

• Soueast Delica van: the commercial version, with a plain load area behind the cab.
• Soueast Delica minibus: the passenger version with rows of seats.
• Mitsubishi L300: the European name for the earlier generations of the same van.
• Mitsubishi L400 / Space Gear: the later, more rounded generation sold in Europe from 1994.
• Delica 4WD: the four-wheel-drive version of the family, introduced in 1982.

The Delica is part of the same practical tradition as the Soueast Freeca, the Chinese people carrier built on a Mitsubishi platform. The saloon from the same maker is the Soueast Lioncel, and more cars are in the Soueast collection.

Sources

• Mitsubishi Delica, English Wikipedia: history, generations, names, engines and four-wheel drive