In America, during the first three months of the year, one Asian automaker barely passed 28k sales while all others thrived – Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA).
MMNA did reveal that its Q1 deliveries surged more than 37%, but that's hardly a bragging point when the actual sales are so low. Nevertheless, luckily for Mitsubishi enthusiasts who still remember the good old days, the company is not abandoning the US market and recently announced Momentum 2030, its latest five-year North American business plan.
The strategy that kicked off immediately and should run through the fiscal year 2030 will see the company strive to advance towards electrification with hybrid, PHEV, and battery-powered models, add new dealers with fresh designs to cover more of the US, add new technology and innovative features, as well as bring out one new or refreshed vehicle each year between fiscal year 2026 and 2030 with new vehicles coming into more segments.
Of course, fans are happy that Mitsubishi is trying to exit the shadow of a shadow of its former self location it is currently dwelling in, and even the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has decided to lend a CGI helping hand to the proceeds. For example, Jim, a virtual artist known as jlord8 on social media, loves messing around with all things digital from the automotive realm, so he didn't stop dreaming of a reborn Mitsubishi Raider pickup truck after this official announcement.
This other pixel master, though, better known as Theottle on social media, has recently resorted to CGI slicing and dicing Mitsubishi's Triton for a 4Runner rival instead. Passionate about the all-new Mitsubishi Triton mid-size pickup truck (known as L200 in other markets), he delved into the creation of some variants of the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport for various publications last year. That way, it would have been a cooler Toyota Fortuner/SW4 mid-size SUV competitor.
However, probably hearing that Mitsubishi's Momentum 2030 is now in effect with new vehicles for additional segments planned, this time around, he has opted for a fresh Mitsubishi Pajero Sport design project based on the Triton but using the latest and greatest American Toyota 4Runner mid-size off-road SUV for the CGI size and virtual shape reference. Plus, it gets a subtly different front fascia inspired by the Xpander Cross to set it further apart.
So, what do you think? Could Mitsubishi benefit from adding such a Pajero Sport model to the North American roster and try to compete – above the Outlander series – with the rest of the all-round off-road SUVs on the market, namely the Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco, and the aforementioned 2025 Toyota 4Runner? Or is this merely wishful thinking?
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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