Mitsubishi News

Sales slide for once popular brands: Mainstream Japanese brands Nissan, Mazda and Suzuki dip in popularity as demand for Chinese brands like BYD, Chery & GWM skyrockets.

With the first quarter of this century already over, we take a look back at the biggest mistakes made by car makers in Australia over the past 25 years.

Believe it or not, we’re now three quarters of the way through 2025. Where did the year go?

The long-awaited replacement for one of the most popular small SUVs in Australia is almost here, with pricing and features revealed for the 2026 Mitsubishi ASX.Mitsubishi has changed the positioning of its baby SUV and it’s now a much pricier proposition than the budget-friendly model it replaces. In turn it also comes with a significantly higher level of tech and safety than the outgoing model ever had.The new-generation ASX is not related to the model it replaces. The original ASX was based on Mitsubishi’s 'GS' platform that underpinned the likes of the last Lancer as well as the recently discontinued Eclipse Cross and more.It was sold in Australia from 2010 until earlier this year, with several facelifts and model year updates throughout its 15-year life.This new version is a rebadged and tweaked version of Alliance partner Renualt’s Captur small SUV, which is not currently sold in Australia. The pre-facelift second-gen Captur was sold in Australia but the refreshed version is yet to be confirmed for sale here.Mitsubishi is offering three grades of ASX and pricing is much higher than the first-gen ASX.Before it was discontinued, the base ASX GS was priced from $26,740, before on-road costs, for the automatic version.Second-gen ASX pricing starts at $37,740 for the entry grade LS, which is about $7K more than the equivalent outgoing LS. The range tops out with the Exceed at $46,490. See tables below for a breakdown of pricing and specification.That means the price of entry for an ASX has increased by more than $10,000. The ASX was known for its value, attracting buyers at the entry-level of the segment. Rivals included the previous-generation MG ZS and GWM Haval Jolion.This pricing puts it more in line with the likes of the Honda HR-V, Nissan Qashqai, Subaru Crosstrek and Toyota Corolla Cross.Powering all ASX grades is a 113kW/270Nm 1.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto transmission driving the front wheels only.According to Mitsubishi, the new ASX consumes 6.4 litres of fuel per 100km on the combined cycle, which is 16 per cent more efficient than the old, unrelated 2.0L unit from the previous ASX.The ASX will be available in Mitsubishi dealerships from the fourth quarter of this year.• 10.4-inch multimedia screen• Instrument cluster with 7.0-inch display• 17-inch alloy wheels• Electrically adjustable, heated door mirrors• Centre console with armrest• Manual dimming rear-view mirror• Cloth seats • Height adjustable driver seat• Soft-touch steering wheel• Vanity mirrors for driver and front passenger• Cruise control with speed limiter• Eco drive mode• Rear parking sensors• Gloss black door mirrors• Climate control air conditioning• Paddle shift• Smart card• Electric parking brake with auto hold• Dusk sensing headlamps• Rain sensing wipers• Rear view camera• Embedded sat nav and Google built-in, featuring Google Assistant, Google Maps & Google Play• 10-inch digital instrument cluster • 18-inch alloy wheels• Privacy glass• Electric folding door mirrors• Ambient interior lighting• Auto dimming rear-view mirror• Height adjustable driver and passenger seat• Heated steering wheel• Illuminated vanity mirrors • Wireless charging• Instrument panel decoration – gloss black• Drive modes, including 'Eco', 'Comfort', 'Sport' and ‘Perso’• Panoramic sunroof• Two-tone exterior paint• Frameless auto dimming rear-view mirror• Black leather seats • Heated front seats• Power driver seatThe new-gen ASX is yet to be crash tested by safety watchdog ANCAP.• Driver attention alert• Emergency lane assist• Forward collision mitigation• Lane departure prevention• Lane departure warning• Safe distance warning• Front, rear and side parking sensors• Lane keep assist• Adaptive cruise control• Traffic jam assist• 'Mi-Pilot' - semi-autonomous driving system• Blind spot warning• Rear cross-traffic alert• Safe exit assist The ASX is covered by Mitsubishi’s 10-year/200,000km warranty which is conditional on the owner servicing the car at a Mitsubishi dealership. It also comes with 10 years' capped-price servicing and up to four years of complimentary roadside assistance.

A best-selling SUV and van have retained their five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety rating.

The Mitsubishi Pajero will go into production in December 2026 and will be built in Thailand — already the manufacturing home of the Mitsubishi Triton, and other dual-cab utes like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max — according to new reports out of the Phillipines.That's the word from The Daily Tribune, which is reporting that the "Desert King" will be built alongside the Triton before being shipped to its on-sale markets.The move would all but lock the Pajero in for sale in Australia, given our Mitsubishi Triton is built there in right-hand drive, and also suggests the model will adopt a ladder-frame chassis, one it shares with Mitsubishi's workhorse ute.It would also lend credibility to reports that the reborn Pajero will hark back to its rugged roots, rather than take a more on-road focussed approach.In fact, reports out of Japan have already pointed to the Triton and Pajero sharing a platform, with Best Car Web making the claim earlier this year.According to the same site, the Pajero won't borrow from the Y63 Patrol, and will instead forge its own ute-based path. That would likely mean sharing the Triton's diesel powertrain – a twin-turbo-diesel 2.4-litre that produces 150kW and 470Nm. But reports suggest the new model will be future-proofed, with a mid-term plan to fit Mitsubishi's next-generation petrol plug-in hybrid technology.It would still be a large SUV, though, measuring a reported 5100mm in length, 1930mm in width and 1815mm in height.According to Best Car, Mitsubishi would target a starting price in its domestic market of around 6.5m Yen, or $67,000 AUD. A similar pricing strategy in Australia would see it significantly undercut the cheapest LC300 ($96k) and Y62 Nissan Patrol ($95k)."I have put up my hand and said we would love to have one because it's a very valuable nameplate, because it is a fantastic product, because it's a halo product," Mitsubishi Australia boss, Shaun Westcott has previously told CarsGuide."For all of the above reasons, we would love to have one here.“I cannot tell you what it is, what it looks like, what the powertrain is, whether there’s a ladder frame, whether there’s monocoque. I cannot give you any of that information other than to say that Mitsubishi has announced that we are working on a large SUV."

Mitsubishi has revealed a new electric car with a familiar name — Eclipse Cross — though this big step forward for the model comes thanks to another brand.

Mitsubishi’s upcoming Pajero Sport successor has been unveiled, well in a way.Japanese Publication Best Car Web has published new digital renders of the so-called Pajero without any camouflage based on a prototype vehicle seen testing earlier this year in Europe.The images are similar to CarsGuide’s own renders produced by Thanos Pappas earlier this year. They depict a large angular and boxy SUV with a very upright and broad nose, as well as a horizontal-slat grille, tall bonnet, set-back cabin and a high flat roofline, leading to a squared-off tailgate.As previously detailed, Mitsubishi may shelve the Pajero Sport badge and bring back the iconic and original Pajero name. Earlier this year Mitsubishi Australia told CarsGuide that with the previous-generation Pajero Sport - plus the ASX and Eclipse Cross SUVs - being retired due to not meeting Australian Design Rules (ADRs) there would be a replacement but wouldn’t say what it would be called."These nameplates will be replaced by equivalent — if you want to call it that — vehicles in the coming years," said Mitsubishi Australia's GM of Product Strategy and PR, Bruce Hampel.Best Car Web claims the new Pajero will be based on the current Triton which launched locally in 2024. This means a body-on-frame chassis is likely, like the outgoing Pajero Sport.Historically, the Pajero was built on a ladder-frame chassis, however, later versions from the 2000s onward were built on a monocoque platform, like the current Land Rover Defender.If the Pajero does make a full comeback it will have its work cut out for itself because its old rival, the Prado, is only recently starting its new generation and offered with a turbo-diesel mild-hybrid powertrain locally and a hybrid powertrain in other markets.Mitsubishi’s best selling vehicle is the Outlander mid-sized SUV with 15,043 sales so far this year. The current Pajero Sport despite being on the way out is still selling well with 3758 sold until the end of August.

Here's everything we know about Mitsubishi's upcoming next-generation ASX.

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