While most other automakers thrived, one particular Asian carmaker barely reached 28k deliveries in America during the first three months of the year. And I think we all know the brand's name – Mitsubishi.
This is one of the world's most renowned mass-market manufacturers, by the way, not some exotic brand like Koenigsegg or Hennessey. As a comparison, Toyota sold 565,098 vehicles (+20.3%) during the period, American Honda jumped to 333,824 units (+17.3%), the Nissan Group surged 7.2% to 252,735 deliveries, and both Subaru and Mazda fared much better, too, with almost 153k vehicles, a rise of 6.7 percent year-over-year, and over 100k sales (+13.3%)!
With those figures in mind, it doesn't really matter that Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) announced quarterly sales are up no less than 35.7% during the first three months of the year - they only delivered 28,403 vehicles! Naturally, it's because of the shady lineup consisting of the Mirage hatch and sedan, Outlander Sport, Eclipse Cross, and – the only bright star – the Outlander and Outlander PHEV. So, what could help Mitsubishi come back from its current near-death local experience?
Well, bringing back some of its most popular nameplates would be wise, for sure, as the member of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is merely a shadow of its former self. Because crossovers, SUVs, and trucks are all the rage nowadays, obviously, it would have to be one of those. No worries, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators already has a solution – this virtual artist, better known as Theottle on social media, has recently resorted to CGI slicing and dicing the Infiniti QX80 plus Outlander into reviving the iconic Mitsubishi Pajero full-size body-on-frame SUV.
Obviously, the inspiration is more than logical – the luxurious 2025 Infiniti QX80 just changed generations, and its third iteration will serve as the basis for the creation of the 'lesser' Nissan counterparts, aka Armada for America and Patrol for international markets. Those will probably represent the bulk of the sales anyway, instead of the ritzy QX80, and Mitsubishi could easily insinuate itself in the matters with a niche offering from the Pajero lineage.
In fact, this design project isn't just wishful thinking – the rumor mill corroborated it back in January 2024 when we heard that a publication in Japan believed that the Pajero is allegedly coming back in 2027 as a Range Rover-rivaling luxury PHEV based on the Outlander's platform and visuals. That ties in spot-on with this unofficial design project as the Outlander skin was placed on top of the Infiniti QX80 – the pixel master doesn't really care that the underpinnings are unibody or body-on-frame, after all.
So, would you like to see the Alliance throw a full-size SUV show of force in America with the all-new 2025 Infiniti QX80, the upcoming 2025 Nissan Armada, and a potential revival of the Mitsubishi Pajero, too?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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