The Mitsubishi Pajero SUV is because of return to Australian showrooms by the tip of 2026, and it will likely be the primary of a broader Pajero mannequin lineup.
Nikkei Asia reviews Mitsubishi will observe the brand new ladder-frame Pajero SUV’s arrival with two extra SUVs additionally sporting the Pajero title.
The automaker confirmed in Could 2026 it supposed to make use of the return of the Pajero nameplate to spearhead a spread of extra rugged, off-road-focused SUVs set aside from its passenger fashions.
Nikkei Asia reviews it will embrace a Toyota RAV4-sized SUV, anticipated in 2028 or 2029, and bought as a extra off-road-capable different to the Mitsubishi Outlander.
For context, the Outlander measures 4720mm lengthy, 1862mm broad and 1745mm tall on a 2706mm wheelbase.
Representing a major alternative for Mitsubishi, with SUV gross sales in Australia persevering with to extend, the brand new SUV will reportedly use elements from the Outlander to hurry up growth and scale back prices.
Nonetheless, it should reportedly use a devoted, Mitsubishi-developed platform. It subsequently will not be a rebadged Nissan, regardless of that model planning a brand new household of body-on-frame SUVs.
The 2 Japanese manufacturers are a part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, with all three utilizing one another’s fashions in badge-engineering agreements.
Probably the most outstanding instance is the Nissan Navara ute, launched in Australia in 2026 as a restyled, rebadged model of the newest Mitsubishi Triton, which arrived in 2024. The third-generation Nissan Leaf electrical crossover can also be bought in North America because the Mitsubishi Eclipse Sportback EV.
A 3rd Pajero SUV anticipated round 2030 can be a extra compact kei-class mannequin, probably reviving the Pajero Mini title beforehand utilized in Japan.
The smallest Pajero bought in Australia was the Pajero iO, a 3710mm-long compact SUV provided right here in three- and five-door physique types between 1999 and 2002. Nonetheless, the Pajero Mini was provided in Japan between 1994 and 2012 and in its first technology measured simply 3295mm lengthy.
The brand new mannequin would give the model a rival to the ladder-frame Suzuki Jimny, the top-selling car in Suzuki Australia showrooms by a major margin and one with a cult-like following. Nonetheless, it seems probably the smallest Pajero member of the family will use car-like unibody building.
The brand new child Pajero is predicted to characteristic all-wheel drive and excessive floor clearance in order to slot in with the remainder of the off-road-focused Pajero household.
As beforehand reported by Nikkei Asia, Mitsubishi is creating hybrid-powered replacements for the ASX and Outlander. Given it’s going to share elements with the Outlander, the brand new mid-size member of the Pajero household may probably borrow its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or upcoming hybrid powertrains.
For the infant Pajero, it is potential Mitsubishi may use the hybrid powertrain from the Mitsubishi Xforce bought abroad, together with in New Zealand the place it is generally known as the Outlander Sport.
The Xforce pairs a 97kW/134Nm 1.6-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine with an 85kW/255Nm electrical motor and constantly variable transmission (CVT) driving the entrance wheels.
Utilizing this powertrain would preserve the brand new SUV out of the kei class, the place engines cannot exceed 660cc in capability, nevertheless it may nonetheless be notably pint-sized just like the previous Pajero Jr, which was primarily based off the Pajero Mini however featured a bigger engine amongst different adjustments. Notably, Suzuki provides each kei and common variations of the Jimny in Japan.
The Pajero vary growth is a part of Mitsubishi’s 2023 plan for 16 new world fashions by the tip of 2028, together with 9 electrified fashions made up of EVs and hybrid choices.
The arrival of the brand new massive Pajero and the brand new Foxtron-based EV (whose title is but to be confirmed) ought to give Mitsubishi Australia a much-needed increase.
Gross sales between January and July 2026 had been down 27.4 per cent yr on yr, with the Triton the one Mitsubishi mannequin to put up a rise in quantity.
