Mitsubishi Triton, Pajero hybrid readied with big factory investment

Hybrid versions of the Mitsubishi Triton and new-generation Pajero SUV could soon be rolling off the brand’s assembly line in Thailand.

Mitsubishi Motors has announced it will invest 16 billion baht (AU$685 million) in Thailand by 2030, which will allow its current operations to become a production and export hub for electrified vehicles.

Nikkei Asia reports Mitsubishi Motors chairman and CEO Takao Kato met with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday July 24 to announce the investment in the country.

The Triton ute and Pajero SUV – the latter due to enter production in Thailand later this year based on the Triton’s ladder-frame chassis – will reportedly be the focus.

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Outside of Japan, Thailand is one of Mitsubishi’s largest production and export bases, with the company investing more than 500 billion yen ($AU5 billion) and exporting more than five million vehicles.

Mitsubishi currently builds the Xforce (Outlander Sport) small SUV and Xpander people mover in Thailand with 'plug-less' hybrid systems, along with combustion-only models, including the Triton and Mirage.

When the current-generation Triton ute debuted in mid-2023, Mitsubishi indicated hybrid power would be a "short-term" solution for the ute, and would precede a full-electric or plug-in hybrid version.

At the reveal, Mitsubishi's then-global chief of engineering and product strategy Hiroshi Nagaoka told media the company was studying full-electric and hybrid technologies "for the future".

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"We are at an advanced engineering phase for those developments. We have not decided yet which technology we should take at a fast pace, but we are of course exploring," he added.

"We are considering another [form of] electrification, HEV [hybrid]. If it’s a HEV we can use the current frame. So in the short term, that would be a very good solution.

"Our competitors are also doing the same [planning electrified utes] in the future, so we definitely need to consider that. Hopefully we will not be behind, then at least we can catch or even get ahead of them.

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"If we want to create a battery EV on this current platform, that will not be enough. So if we want to deliver battery EV in the future, we must modify the frame

"But even in that case, we want to carry over some parts from the [new] Triton frame platform, then we will modify [for a battery EV]."

In the frame’s current design, a plug-in hybrid battery would be difficult to package with the Triton’s 75-litre fuel tank capacity.

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Electrified body-on-frame utes and SUVs available in Australia include the upcoming MG U9 EV, the BYD Shark 6, Ford Ranger, GWM Cannon Alpha, Tank 300 and Tank 500, Denza B5 and B8, and Chery Stockman PHEVs, and the mild-hybrid Toyota HiLux, Prado and Foton Tunland.

However, outside of the short-lived GWM Cannon Alpha 'plug-less' hybrid, there are currently no full-hybrid body-on-frame vehicles in Australia – at least until GWM re-enters the field with its diesel hybrid models expected to debut next year.

Mitsubishi's planned hybrid technology could also be matched with 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel power, rather than a new petrol engine, although the brand has yet to share any specific details.