Mitsubishi kills the Raider pickup

Mitsubishi said it will kill the Raider pickup as it plans to overhaul its North American lineup with more fuel-efficient vehicles. The Japanese automakers saw its sales fall 24.6 percent last year.

Chrysler LLC builds the Raider for Mitsubishi as a rebadged Dodge Dakota. Mitsubishi said it will not renew the contract with Chrysler when it expires. According to Automotive News, that means the 2010 model year Mitsubishi Raider will be the last.

The Nissan Raider has been the biggest disappointments for President Osamu Masuko. Masuko said that he will now focus more on introducing smaller and more fuel-efficient cars in the U.S. Raider sales were down 64.5 percent to 2,935 units in 2008.