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Philip Lord14 Nov 2018
NEWS

Next Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara to plug in

Mitsubishi to lead development of next-gen Triton and Navara utes, including plug-in hybrid versions and perhaps Raptor rivals

The next-generation Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara will be offered with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain option and their core development will be led by the youngest partner of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

Mitsubishi’s global boss Trevor Mann has previously confirmed that replacements for the existing Triton and Navara will essentially be twins under the skin, and the potential for both models to spawn tough-truck rivals for the Ford Ranger Raptor – perhaps badged as the Triton Ralliart and Navara NISMO — has been well documented.

Now, speaking to Australian journalists at the launch of the facelifted 2019 Mitsubishi Triton (pictured) in Bangkok, Mann suggested that PHEV versions of both utes – designed to satisfy forthcoming emission laws – would arrive early in the lifecycle of the next Triton and Navara, which are expected in 2022.

“The pick-up market is mostly driven by durability, cost of ownership and toughness,” he said. “PHEV technology today has not reached a cost performance or durability to be an easy installation today. But I think it’s fair to say that by 2025, electricification will have to happen.”

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Mann suggested that plug-in hybrid technology, as seen in the present Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, is an ideal technology for heavy-duty vehicles such as utes.

“We see three technologies: battery (EV), hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV). So when you come to the weight of the vehicle, particularly when you want towing capacity and you want convenience and autonomy, PHEV is very suitable for that size of vehicle.”

Mann’s revelations in Bangkok were mirrored by Vincent Cobee, Mitsubishi’s global vice-president of product strategy, who said that the ever-more stringent emissions regulations in Europe were driving the adoption of hybrid powertrains in all vehicles – including light commercials such as utes.

“You can expect to see [PHEV] in a broader range of cars,” he said. “If you look at the regulatory environment, and if you were to project five to 10 years down the road, there will have to be electrification across the vast majority of countries and segments.”

The Euro 6.2 emission laws introduced in September — which put the nail in the coffin for Pajero sales in Europe — halve the NOx emissions limit for diesels and will be followed up by the even more stringent Euro 7 requirements, as yet unannounced but widely believed to become law by 2021.

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Cobee said that Mitsubishi has “...a strong hold of [PHEV] technology”, and going forward – given that Mitsubishi’s technology spend is up 50 per cent on last year’s – the company’s grip on plug-in hybrid tech would only grow tighter.

“Currently, our PHEV range is about 50km in pure EV mode. We will extend this: our aim is around 80 to 100km, which we believe covers 90 to 95 per cent of trips.

“It would enable you to have full EV running, with the exception of long-haul driving.”

Cobee said that Mitsubishi’s investment in PHEV technology would overcome existing barriers presented by the harsh and high-load conditions in which utes are used.

“The key elements of towing, load, maintenance intervals -- all of these with PHEV can be done. We just need to spend enough money to do it.

“If there’s one company well-placed to do this, it’s Mitsubishi.”

mitsubishi triton 175 608p

While Mitsubishi and Nissan will share a common ladder platform to replace the current Triton and Navara (and the Renault Alaskan and Mercedes-Benz X-Class), Mann said that rather than Mitsubishi adopting the Nissan-developed platform, it would be the other way around.

“Those platforms will be jointly developed but the company that seems to have the best expertise for that certain category will take the lead... we have 4x4 expertise and we have framed-vehicle expertise.

“So when we look at the job shares between the Alliance from a development point of view, it became clear that we would take the lead on frame development...”

That each brand would superimpose its own identity (and unique technology) on the ute is a given, according to Mann.

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“Obviously Nissan also has a level of 4x4 capability, but what we have with our 4x4 ability in terms of Super All Wheel Control, that defines our brand and that’s the brand differentiator as far as we’re concerned.”

Even though there would be a strong Mitsubishi flavour to its core in the next-gen Triton’s case, Mann made clear his objective for each new Mitsubishi model shared across the Alliance portfolio.

“Everything that the customer sees, touches, experiences [and] feels will be Mitsubishi,” he said.

First drive review of the 2019 Mitsubishi Triton
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Written byPhilip Lord
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