Opinion: Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Will Be Make Or Break

The Story

Mitsubishi has been teasing the Pajero for next year, with the U.S. likely to see the model arriving as the returning Montero several months later. It’s clear that there’s a lot riding on the SUV, with some of us convinced that the vehicle is the company’s last hope to become more than it is today. While the Japanese debut of the Pajero isn’t supposed to take place until September, we’ve already managed to learn quite a bit about the model. It’s supposed to be body-on-frame and ma.

Report: GM Allegedly Pumping The Breaks On Full-Size EVs Connie Peters Drives The 2026 Ford Explorer Tremor Chinese Vehicle Content Rules Forcing Polestar Out of U.S. Next Year See Edits News Blog Mitsubishi Sales and Marketing 1.1K Views Opinion: Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Will Be Make Or Break by Matt Posky (IC: employee) Published: August 12th, 2026 Share.

Mitsubishi has been teasing the Pajero for next year, with the U.S. Likely to see the model arriving as the returning Montero several months later. It’s clear that there’s a lot riding on the SUV, with some of us convinced that the vehicle is the company’s last hope to become more than it is today.

While the Japanese debut of the Pajero isn’t supposed to take place until September, we’ve already managed to learn quite a bit about the model. It’s supposed to be body-on-frame and make use of the brand’s latest “Super All Wheel Control” (S-AWC) system — presumably creating a competent and rugged off-road vehicle.

Considering that the Pajero was easily the most successful car model in Dakar Rally history, it had better be. Rumors have suggested that the model will be an amalgamation of the Mitsubishi Triton pickup (known for being dependable and competitively priced) and Nissan’s upcoming Xterra SUV. Spyshots of the test vehicle, along with Mitsubishi’s own teaser images, have likewise shown that the Pajero offers a significant amount of ground clearance with vulnerable portions of its underbody either being protected by skid plates or tucked up high enough to avoid getting battered by exceptionally gnarly terrain. The wheel wells are also massive, suggesting that the manufacturer expects customers to purchase (or option) large all-terrain tires.

It’s the first vehicle developed by Mitsubishi that seems to have created a serious amount of interest in a while. It may also be the brand’s last real chance to secure an identity for itself in North America after years of hardship.

Despite arriving in the United States much later than other Japanese brands, Mitsubishi enjoyed an almost meteoric rise in regional sales. However, being late to the party undoubtedly hurt the brand. Honda, Subaru, and Mazda all had landed on our shores a decade earlier. Meanwhile, Toyota and Nissan had been sussing out the North American market since the late 1950s.

This gave them a massive advantage in terms of establishing dealer networks and relationships within the industry. But Mitsubishi had been selling rebadged models with the help of Chrysler, allowing the brand to learn about American tastes while taking fewer risks than its main rivals.

When Mitsubishi finally established its own U.S. Dealer networks in 1982, the automaker pulled zero punches. While the brand focused largely on affordability, its efforts in global motorsport yielded numerous performance vehicles. This combination allowed the company to surpass both Mazda and Subaru by the late 1990s.

However, it had become clear that Mitsubishi didn’t want to be viewed as a niche automaker. It has been expanding its lineup to compete with the larger Japanese brands for years. Even though many of those models were excellent, Honda and Toyota were offering unparalleled reliability at the time. This ended up being the turning point for the brand, which was fighting an uphill battle and lacked their resources. Despite Mitsubishi Group being one of the largest companies in the world, leadership viewed the automotive side of the business as little more than a side project.

The automaker had clearly overextended itself and the top brass didn’t seem interested in supporting the play. Volumes cratered during the 2000s and the Mitsubishi’s American lineup became increasingly lean. In response, it was decided that the brand should focus more on subprime customers and move away from motorsport. Following the 2008 financial crisis, Mitsubishi’s sales had fallen to a mere fraction of what they had been just 10 years prior.

Why It Matters

Even though North American volumes remain a far cry from what they were in the 1990s, Mitsubishi’s pivot to SUVs while likewise offering some of the best deals (and longest warranties) in the industry has clearly helped it with sales.

CarMotion Daily’s Take

Next Year See Edits News Blog Mitsubishi Sales and Marketing 1.1K Views Opinion: Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Will Be Make Or Break by Matt Posky (IC: employee) Published: August 12th, 2026 Share. Watch this space over the coming weeks.