Mitsubishi is still contemplating the right electrification route for its Triton ute, with a plug-in hybrid powertrain falling out of favour for plug-less hybrid.
Mitsubishi is still undecided on the which route to take in electrifying its top-selling Triton pick-up, putting the release of the Japanese brand’s hybrid ute at least years away, with hybrid emerging as the front-running technology.
Speaking to Drive, Mitsubishi Australia General Manager of Product Strategy Bruce Hampel said the brand is still in the research phase of determining which direction to take electrification of the Triton.
“We’ve been doing a lot of surveys through large, medium, and small private customers around electrification needs on pick-up vehicles, for example,” Hampel said.
“Trying to make sure we have a good understanding of the current competitive landscape where we have different PHEV technologies, or applications of PHEV technologies, across the pick-ups that have been introduced recently, and how they resonate with different customer types.
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“[This is] to make the final decision on which direction we want to head for us to take the next step with the Triton going forward.”
However, at the recent 2025 Tokyo motor show, Mitsubishi engineering fellow Kaoru Sawase said development on a hybrid version of the Triton was already underway.
“First, we have to work on hybrid, not the way of plug-in hybrid,” Sawase-san told Australian media.
“In the past, we have announced [plans] to launch BEV, [a] battery-electric vehicle Triton. But now that the direction has shifted a little bit, we are now trying to quickly launch electrified [hybrid] vehicles.”
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The current plug-in hybrid ute options include the top-selling BYD Shark 6, GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, and Ford Ranger PHEV, but from next year, JAC is also planning to launch the T9 Hunter PHEV.
MG and LDV are also expected to serve up a plug-in hybrid powertrain in its U9 and Terron 9 utes that share the same underpinnings.
In terms of powertrain technologies, the chart-topping Shark 6 currently uses a 1.5-litre petrol engine and dual electric motors; the Ranger PHEV has a 2.3-litre petrol engine and a single electric motor; and the Cannon Alpha PHEV features a 2.0-litre engine and single electric motor.
For outputs, the BYD and GWM make 321kW/650Nm and 300kW/750Nm respectively, while the Ford produces 207kW/697Nm.
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JAC meanwhile, is targeting a 385kW/1000Nm output – thanks to a 2.0-litre engine and dual-electric motors – for its T9 Hunter PHEV, though final figures for the production version are still to be confirmed.
In terms of plug-less hybrid utes in the market, only the GWM Cannon Alpha Hybrid qualifies, and produces 255kW/648Nm from its 2.0-litre petrol-electric powertrain.
Of note, Toyota also fields the HiLux with 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance, but does not label it a hybrid.
Nissan has now also revealed its Triton-related, next-generation Navara, which uses the same 150kW/470Nm 2.4-litre twin-turbo diesel engine for now, but will also introduce the China-sourced Frontier Pro PHEV ute down the track.
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Hampel said, at present, customers are still gravitating towards diesel, which Mitsubishi will still offer even if it means running afoul of the limits set by the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).
“I think the clear message we’re seeing in that segment is that diesel is still the preferred powertrain for those types of customers,” Hampel said.
“We’ll need to look for other ways to deliver our commitment to the NVES obligations going forward.”
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