Mitsubishi’s Six-Year Plan: Kei-Sized Pajero, U.S. Pickup, and a Fleet of Hybrids

Mitsubishi has unveiled a six-year roadmap dominated by electrified models, including 13 new vehicles co-developed with Nissan and other partners.

The lineup features a reborn Pajero flagship SUV, a compact Pajero, a kei-sized Pajero, and a new pickup for North America.

Five hybrids, five plug-in hybrids, and three battery-electric vehicles will spearhead the strategy, with all powertrains leveraging Mitsubishi’s in-house hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines boasting a world-class 48% thermal efficiency.

The Pajero name will expand across a family of vehicles, including a ladder-frame flagship SUV based on the Triton pickup, a compact SUV, and a small kei car.

A minivan is also in the works under Mitsubishi’s off-road product group, potentially succeeding the Delica D:5, which has been in production since 2007 with two facelifts. Additional SUVs and a Triton-based pickup are part of the off-road push.

In ASEAN markets, a new generation of the Xpander hybrid crossover minivan will debut, following its 2017 introduction and 2022 facelift.

Collaborations with Nissan include a fully electric coupe-SUV built on the Nissan Leaf platform, an electric SUV developed with Foxconn, and two kei wagons offered in combustion and EV forms. A new pickup for North America is also in the works, alongside a global pickup project with Nissan.

The Australian-spec Nissan Navara is based on the current Mitsubishi Triton, while the electrified Nissan Frontier Pro draws on the Chinese Dongfeng Z9, hinting at potential badge-engineering for global markets.

Mitsubishi is accelerating development timelines by 20%, reducing lead times from 45 months to 36 months using AI and digital transformation to stay competitive.