GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Mitsubishi teases new Triton hybrid

Mitsubishi has revealed a futuristic diesel-electric pick-up that previews its next-generation Triton workhorse due next year and a new hybrid drive system that could power it.

As well, it has confirmed it will also use next month’s Geneva motor show to reveal a new all-electric small car concept with a 300km-plus driving range, hinting at a more broadly appealing replacement for the pioneering iMiEV.

Single teaser shots of both Geneva concepts don’t give too much away, but the GR-HEV hybrid one-tonner and CA-MiEV compact EV are clear pointers to two of the eight electrified vehicles Mitsubishi has promised by 2015, beginning with the original iMiEV city-car in 2010 and including the new Outlander PHEV due in Australia by mid-2013.

Mitsubishi has confirmed its next Lancer small car due in early 2014 will be available with hybrid power and continues to study both EV and hybrid versions of the all-new Mirage launched here in January.

Speaking at last October’s Sydney motor show, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation President Osamu Masuko also revealed the next Triton ute will be launched in 2014 – six months before the new Pajero, including a hybrid version – with an all-new Triton-based Challenger off-roader to follow.

It’s not clear if or when the CA-MiEV – for Compact and Advanced – concept will morph into reality, but it’s increasingly likely the new Triton and closely related Challenger will both be among the eight electrified vehicles Mitsubishi will launch by 2015, as part of its plan for 20 per cent of its sales to be EV-based by 2020.

In fact, Mitsubishi says the Concept GR-HEV (for Grand Runner Hybrid Electric Vehicle) is a proposal for “a sport utility truck which delivers high environmental and driving performance using a FR [front-engine, rear-wheel drive] diesel-hybrid system (under development) in a pick-up truck, one of the most popular vehicle categories in emerging economies”.

The GR-HEV combines a clean-diesel engine with a high-output motor and battery to become the world’s first hybrid one-tonner, but unlike the petrol-electric Outlander PHEV it does not incorporate plug-in recharging capability.

Nevertheless, Mitsubishi promises the GR-HEV’s diesel-electric hybrid drive system will set a new efficiency benchmark in its class with CO2 emissions below 149g/km, along with a next-generation Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) integrated vehicle dynamics control and full-time 4WD system.

“If electric vehicles are to have a significant impact on the environment, they should be able to attract a wide spectrum of customers with a full palette of EV-based vehicles across the range, from small runabouts to big SUVs, each using a dedicated application of the technology (EV, HEV or PHEV).

“In this respect, all-new Outlander PHEV has already proved that EV powertrain and long-haul D-segment crossovers are perfectly compatible.

“At MMC the next logical step will be to expand further, adapting electric componentry to the demands of an even larger, tougher, sportier vehicle with both work and leisure in mind in either mature or emerging markets – such was the brief behind Concept GR-HEV, Mitsubishi Motors’ take at hybrid (HEV) technology, applied for the first time to a one-tonne pick-up truck.”

Mitsubishi says GR-HEV’s diesel-hybrid system is simpler, cheaper and better suited to the heavy-duty daily requirements of pick-up truck drivers than either EV or PHEV.

Just as the current Triton shocked the industry with its rounded cab and tub in 2006, its replacement looks set to make new design waves with a round rump and sharply rising shoulder line, if the “chunky, rugged, handsome and eminently usable” GR-HEV is any guide.

The Concept CA-MiEV ‘suburban EV’, meantime, “gives an indication of the shape MMC, which launched the i-MiEV – the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle – in 2009, believes EVs will take in the near future”.

Mitsubishi says the still-disguised concept incorporates next-generation EV technologies it is currently developing – including high-energy density batteries and high-efficiency EV motor, inverter, regenerative braking and wireless charging systems – in a lightweight and aerodynamic body, delivering about double the driving range of the iMiEV.

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