Mitsubishi Triton hybrid and EV confirmed

The sixth-generation 2024 Mitsubishi Triton made its global debut in Thailand last week with a more powerful twin-turbo diesel engine, but without any sort of powertrain electrification technology – for now.

That will change when the first Mitsubishi Triton hybrid is released within a couple of years of the new diesel ute’s Australian release in February, followed by the first battery-electric pick-up from Mitsubishi by 2028.

As part of the mid-term business strategy it announced to investors in March, Mitsubishi promised to deliver 16 new models including nine EVs headlined by a ‘Pickup BEV’ within the next five years (by March 2028).

Speaking to Australian journalists at the Triton’s premiere in Bangkok, Mitsubishi Motors’ global executive vice-president in charge of engineering and product strategy, Hiroshi Nagaoka, confirmed the Japanese car-maker’s plan for an electric ute based on the new Triton.

However, he said a series-parallel hybrid powertrain is compatible with the Triton’s new ladder frame without modifications, making a petrol-electric hybrid (HEV) version of the ute easier to produce in the short-term.

“In the future, we think that a BEV is also required for a pick-up truck, but the question is timing – when we should introduce this BEV. [Before then], we also need to think about some other kind of electrified vehicle such as hybrid or PHEV. If it’s an HEV we can use the current type of frame and that’s very important,” said Nagaoka.

“In the short-term, that will be a very good solution for us in terms of electrification. But we are actually studying both kinds of EV – battery and HEV – for the future and we are in the advanced engineering phase of those developments.

“We have not decided yet which of the technologies we should take up at a fast pace, but we are exploring both technologies.

“Most likely maybe we go first to a hybrid, and then after that maybe – considering battery improvement – a PHEV or a battery EV.

“We realised our competitors are doing the same in the future, so we definitely need to consider that and then hopefully we will not be behind, and then at least we can catch up or maybe even get ahead of them.”

While Toyota has confirmed 48-volt mild-hybrid power for the HiLux next year the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok will both be offered with electrified powertrains in the next few years.

Nagaoka said a traditional hybrid system’s relatively small battery pack is easier to package in a body-on-frame vehicle like the Triton, making an HEV powertrain likelier in the short-term than EV or PHEV, both of require larger batteries and, in the case of a PHEV, a combustion engine and fuel tank.

“[With HEV] We don’t have to put in as many batteries as we would with a plug-in hybrid… and we can accommodate a smaller battery and gasoline tank,” he said.

“If battery technology improves, we could do a plug-in hybrid, but at the moment the number of batteries required would occupy too much space.

“We are studying that [PHEV] solution as well. [But] In the short-term, it [HEV] is a very good solution for CO2 reduction.”

Nagaoka ruled out Nissan’s e-POWER electric-drive system from the X-TRAIL, which had been mooted for the Triton as part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, because its engine drives only a generator rather than wheels.

“E-POWER is a kind of battery EV, with no gearing from the engine. That’s kind of a problem for a bigger car, and I know this very well,” said the former Nissan senior executive.

“In a small car, that’s fine. But [for Triton], having a gear for the engine so that we can run the car with electricity or an ICE engine is our preferred solution.”

With e-POWER ruled out and Mitsubishi’s trademark PHEV technology appearing unlikely for now, the Triton’s hybrid powertrain is likely to be a development of the series-parallel hybrid system the company offers in some Asian markets.

As for the EV, Nagaoka said the Triton’s new ladder frame would need to be heavily modified to accommodate the large battery pack required for a battery-electric powertrain, making it unclear whether Mitsubishi’s upcoming ‘Pickup BEV’ will actually be called a Triton or something else.

Specifically referencing the full-size Ford F-150 Lightning electric pick-up, Nagaoka said all-electric powertrains in large vehicles like the Triton need very large battery packs (starting at 98kWh in the Ford).

“BEV for pick-up is difficult, like the Ford F-150 Lightning. So we are actually studying the solution also,” he said.

“If we want to deliver the battery EV in the future we must modify at least the frame platform.

“Even in that case we want to try to carry over some parts from the current Triton frame platform. Then we will modify it to take the battery. Yes we will modify our current platform, but we must modify.”

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au