New Mitsubishi Montero May Be Delayed, Everything Else on Schedule

Mitsubishi is refocusing on North America and has said it would release new or updated models every year between now and 2030. This includes several versions of the Outlander, a new pickup truck, the Eclipse Sportback EV, and the returning Pajero/Montero SUV. However, it sounds as though the latter model won’t be coming out as soon as we had all hoped.

The good news is that nothing has been abandoned. Based on a report from Automotive News, Mitsubishi had shown working prototypes of several new models to dealerships at the start of this month.

In order of arrival, the Eclipse Sportback EV (above) should be the first vehicle to finish baking. Slated to arrive later this year, the Sportback is based on the Nissan Leaf and serves as another instance of the brand misusing the Eclipse name. The original Eclipse model was a sporty compact, built in the United States, that was beloved by tuners thanks to it using the legendary 4G63 engine. Recent examples have all been crossovers, with the latest incarnation appearing slightly more carlike than the Eclipse Cross that came before.

Following the Sportback EV will be revamped versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander. In the short term, that includes an off-road version (situated above the Trail Edition) and plug-in hybrid variant. But Mitsubishi eventually plans on releasing a complete redesign of the vehicle.

The same should be true of the Outlander Sport. Both models are slated to move to a new platform in 2028 and are expected to see additional off-road focused variants.

Mitsubishi likewise wants to get a pickup back into the hands of Western buyers. Rather than building the Mitsubishi Triton in the U.S., which would be necessary to avoid tariffs, the company is expected to leverage Nissan’s manufacturing capabilities in the Southeast to build a new model based on the Frontier. We’re supposed to see it sometime in 2029.

That leaves the returning Pajero, which has historically been called the Montero in North America. The Pajero is said to boast a ladder frame chassis borrowed from the Triton pickup and be about as off-road focused as a passenger vehicle can be. But it’s been hard to verify that information. Rumors have suggested that it may leverage more hardware from Nissan, including the chassis.

While it’s still assumed that the Pajero will debut in Japan later this year, Automotive News suggested that North America may not get a taste until 2030. The model was never confirmed for our market but there were relentless rumors that we’d see it sometime in 2028.

The delay is not particularly heartening. But we know that Mitsubishi filed for the Montero name a few years back and it’s plausible that the automaker would need more time to figure out how best to bring it to Western markets. There’s nothing to suggest that the three-row SUV won’t eventually make it to our shores.

Still, a lot can change within a few years. Perhaps the biggest assurance we can give is that Mitsubishi seems serious about its upcoming product offensive and planned resurgence on Western markets.

Frankly, it’s still a little hard to believe that the company is even bothering after effectively turning its back on us so many years ago. Mitsubishi’s downfall takes a lot of twists and turns. But the bottom line is that the larger Japanese conglomerate had simply lost faith in the automotive division. By the early 2000s, Mitsubishi Motors was confronting bankruptcy and needed to be bailed out by the greater Mitsubishi Group to the tune of billions.

The company had started courting subprime carbuyers in the United States and was losing its identity as the affordable automaker that offered a sizable number of sporting models. Development funding had evaporated for just about anything interesting, Mitsubishi largely abandoned motorsport, and enthusiasts were starting to go elsewhere for their fix. The popularization of crossovers and the industry push toward electrification further complicated matters.

By the time Mitsubishi became involved in the Nissan-Renault Alliance in 2016, its relevance in North America had already dwindled immensely. The automaker had abandoned production within the region and was now prioritizing developing markets while a sizable amount of its engineering was being outsourced to Nissan.

However, the company has since expressed a desire to refocus on Western markets. Our guess is that this is due to a few factors. Mitsubishi has been losing ground to upcoming Chinese brands in Southeast Asia — a region which has served as the automaker’s core market since its inception. There’s also been a growing appetite in North America for affordable vehicles of late, perhaps creating an opportunity for Mitsubishi to return.

[Images: Mitsubishi; Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock]

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