New Mitsubishi models coming: Pajero Sport, Delica... but where's the ASX?

Mitsubishi has pledged to wheel out a new model every year for the foreseeable and the big news for 2024 was the arrival of an all-new Mitsubishi Triton, but what else does the Japanese brand have up its showroom sleeve for the future?

Since the demise of the Mirage, Mitsubishi’s local showrooms have become the exclusive domain of SUVs and 4x4s, and that’s unlikely to change. Don’t pay any attention to those renderings on social media – a Lancer revival is very much not part of the product plan.

But what lurks around the corner for the Triple-Diamond? The immediate future looks a little light for new product, but there’s stuff on the horizon that’s a bit more titillating. Here’s what we know.

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JUMP AHEAD

• ASX
• Eclipse Cross
• Triton
• Pajero
• Pajero Sport
• Outlander
• Delica
• Electric vehicles

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ASX

In 2025 the Mitsubishi ASX will mark 15 years on sale. In automotive terms, it’s a fossil.

At one point, a replacement for the former best-selling small SUV was to arrive down under via Renault’s Captur, thanks to a plan that would see Renault look after SUV platforms for all three groups. The French brand even recently launched a straight facsimile of the Captur as a Europe-only ASX late last year, but it’s not for us.

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Is there actually a succession plan? We honestly don't know.

Mitsubishi recently launched a new small SUV in Asia called the XForce, but word on the street is that it’d need significant work to align with Australian expectations. A wheezy 77kW four-potter and no discernible safety tech means it’s a non-starter for Australia - at least in the short-term - but reports suggest that the XForce might form the basis for an ASX replacement… in 2027.

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Eclipse Cross

The next step up in the Mitsubishi food chain shares a similar story; the Eclipse Cross will be sold for as long as it’s available.

A running update that arrived in early 2024 bumped up the Eclipse Cross’ safety fit-out with the addition of lane departure warning as well as rain sensing wipers and dusk-sensing headlamps for the base ES grade

Prices also rose by $500 across-the-board (it now starts at $31,990 and tops out at $56,490), but don’t expect big changes for Mitsubishi’s small SUV in 2025.

As with the ASX, there’s no clear successor on the horizon from anywhere in the wider Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance.

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Triton

Mitsubishi’s new-generation Triton launched in early 2024 in a dual-cab-only, pickup-only five-model range, with just one fleet-focused 4x2 model in the mix.

A swift ‘MY24.5’ update added a new GLX-R grade to sit between the GLX+ and GLS, while a Club Cab option was added for the GLX+ post-launch to provide an alternative to the otherwise dual-cab-only lineup. Otherwise the MV-generation Mitsubishi Triton range has lacked the diversity of most other Thai-sourced utes since it launched.

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For 2025 we expect more variants to arrive to broaden choice within the MV Triton family, such as cab-chassis and single-cab and more space cab options. When? Mitsubishi Australia hasn’t confirmed timing, but sometime in the first half of 2025 seems likely.

Later on in the decade, an electrified Triton will most likely be added to the range to duke it out with the BYD Shark 6 and Ford Ranger PHEV. Mitsubishi is keeping mum on the particulars, but expect a plug-in hybrid to hit the ground first (most likely with a petrol-electric rather than diesel-electric powertrain), with a fully-electric potentially following it - although that one may not make its way to Australia.

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Pajero

Axed by Mitsubishi in 2021 after several decades of service, the resuscitation of the Pajero nameplate has been a staple of the rumourmill since.

And, on the surface, a large 4x4 should be the last thing on a carmaker’s radar given the holus-bolus race to lower emissions motoring. Yet, the sales success of the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol suggest otherwise. Indeed, a large monocoque SUV features in Mitsubishi’s mid-term plan, which might herald the return of the Pajero nameplate.

“If we can [re]introduce Pajero, that is a wonderful dream for us!”, Takao Kato, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, told 4X4 Australia recently.

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However, Mitsubishi executives also warned that the planned SUV might not pass Australian regulations without major modifications. Could it hook into the super-sized underpinnings of the new-gen Nissan Patrol, given the corporate synergies between the two Japanese automakers? Reportedly not, but we could see the future of the Pajero intersect with another mainstay Mitsubishi offroader: the Pajero Sport...

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2024 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport rendered by Theottle | © Wheels Media

Pajero Sport

With its new ladder frame, lighter body and safety features developed with the Australian market and its strict safety requirements in mind, it's only logical that Mitsubishi would use the Triton as a base for a new Pajero Sport SUV.

Although confirmed to be known as Pajero Sport, Mitsubishi's mid-term plan outlines a 'PPV' (pick-up based passenger vehicle) which is what the segment, that also features the Toyota Fortuner and Isuzu MU-X, is called in the ASEAN region.

Just like the current Pajero Sport, expect it to lift the engine and other under-the-skin mechanicals from the new Triton ute.

However we also anticipate the new Pajero Sport will use a coil-sprung rear end rather than the Triton's leaf springs, per the segment norm. As for the existing difference between six-speed automatic Triton to eight-speed Pajero Sport, it's unclear whether that will carry over into the next-gen model expected for a 2024 reveal.

Aesthetically, we're expecting the next generation Pajero Sport to look substantially different to the Triton, both inside and out, with a styling language that should be unique to the nameplate to help separate the passenger-focused Pajero Sport from its commercial vehicle origins. It could also arrive with plug-in hybrid power right from the get-go, ahead of that technology's rollout to the Triton.

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Outlander

The latest iteration of the Outlander is one of the few shared success stories of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance, as it shares its platform with the latest Nissan X-Trail.

Locally, Mitsubishi continues to push the benefits of the Outlander’s hybrid versions, but the one we’re all hoping to see is the range-topping Ralliart ‘Almighty’ version, which is set offer three electric motors and air-sprung suspension in a first-up effort to re-establish the Ralliart performance brand.

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Before the Ralliart revival, however, expect a facelifted version of the Outlander and Outlander PHEV to land locally sometime in 2025, most likely in the second half.

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Delica

There are no announced plans to introduce the Delica people-mover to Australia, but there’s strong support within Mitsubishi’s Australian arm for the big three-row van to come our way if it’s made available.

It’ll need to wait until a full model changeover occurs first, however that ball is already rolling with the debut last year of the D:X concept, which previewed a chunky-looking one-box van with an open-plan interior and plug-in hybrid powertrain.

With loads of ground clearance and rugged offroad styling cues, it could be just the trick for adventure-seeking families – but don’t expect it until 2026 at the very earliest. We've still yet to see the production 'D:6' Delica break cover, after all.

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Electric vehicles

Despite Mitsubishi being a pioneer in the EV space with the i-Miev city car early in the 00s, current thinking looks quite different.

Take, for example, the notion of an electric Mitsubishi Triton ute, which has been soundly rebuffed by Mitsubishi Australia CEO, Shawn Westacott.

“There are people that develop show ponies and there's a place for show ponies. That's fine. But we understand who our core target market is, and that's middle-income Australia, working Australia," he told WhichCar.

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"And we need to produce a product that is of value to the mass market – for farmers, tradies, people that deliver that work, who drive the economy of Australia.

"There are some companies, particularly out in the US, that have grabbed headlines by saying 'we've developed an electric ute'. But the reality of a ute is that our customers buy them because they are workhorses."

There is also talk that the ASX could morph into a small hybrid-electric SUV with co-operation across the alliance to get it done, with a two-row SUV-shaped HEV shown as part of Mitsubishi’s 2025 future plans.

The only other EV that’s vaguely on the Mitsubishi radar is the diminutive eK X EV commuter car, which could also potentially be used to stress-test the Australian public’s acceptance of ANCAP ratings.

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