Mitsubishi confirms electric ute, within five years

mitsubishi It may become one of the first Japanese automakers to enter the electric utility vehicle market, with plans for a battery-powered dual cab confirmed within the next five years.

The electric ute was announced as part of 16 new mitsubishi models planned for 2028, including the new Triton diesel ute that expires this year and nine hybrid or electric vehicles.

A preview image of the new electric ute suggests it will be a standalone model with different bodywork than the new Triton, which could indicate it’s based on a dedicated EV architecture, rather than a chassis adapted from an EV. diesel truck.

Its boxier styling and proportions compared to the Triton next door indicate it may be closer in size to American full-size pickups, including the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T – which until now have led the deployment of electric power in the ute category.

Details of Mitsubishi’s new electric ute are scant for now, and it’s unclear if it will be twinned with a sister model from Nissan and Renault, which are Mitsubishi’s partners in a technical and financial alliance between the brands.

Drive reported last month in US interest nissan distributors in an electric NavarreHowever, there was speculation that it could be directly based on the new Nissan Navara, which is twinned under the skin with the new Mitsubishi Triton.

A larger Ford F-150 vehicle could open the door for Mitsubishi to return to the US utility vehicle market, which it departed from in 2009 after discontinuing its rebadged version of the Triton-sized Dakota utility vehicle from specialist USA pickups RAM.

However, it would have to be built in the US because of the ‘Chicken Tax’, a 25 percent tariff on imported light trucks introduced in the 1960s as a response to the US chicken import tax. USA from West Germany.

No exact launch date has been set for the Mitsubishi electric ute, but a presentation to investors suggests it will take place between 2025 and 2028, pending any delays.

This timeline could see Mitsubishi become one of the first Japanese automakers to enter the electric utility vehicle market, but some five years after its Chinese and American rivals.