New Mitsubishi Pajero Secures 5,500 Pre-Orders in Japan

The fifth-generation Mitsubishi Pajero has returned with a splash, securing more than 5,500 pre-orders in Japan within the first month after order books opened on October 1, 2026. That initial demand has already eclipsed Mitsubishi's domestic sales target of 4,000 units for the fiscal year ending March 2027.

The model launches in Japan from 6,193,000 yen, a price the company has presented alongside an approximate US dollar figure of $39,300. Mitsubishi has also recorded early appetite abroad, with 1,500 orders reported in Thailand where the Pajero is already on sale, and an Australian launch set for December 2026 targeting 3,000 units through March 2027, advertised from about 70,000 Australian dollars, or roughly US $49,200.

Mitsubishi Motors president Keisuke Kishiura said the revived Pajero is functioning as a "conquest machine," drawing roughly 80 percent of its Japanese buyers from established rivals such as the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Nissan Patrol.

Under the bonnet the global model runs a 2.4-liter turbocharged diesel that Mitsubishi rates at 201 horsepower, or 204 metric horsepower, and 354 pound-feet, or 480 Newton meters, of torque. A newly developed eight-speed automatic drives all four wheels via the brand's heavy-duty Super Select 4WD-II system.

The Pajero sits on a truck-based, high-rigidity ladder-frame chassis shared with the Mitsubishi Triton pickup. Curb weight is listed at 5,284 pounds, or 2,397 kilograms, and exterior dimensions are 193.7 inches long, 75.8 inches wide and 75.2 inches tall, riding on a 113.0-inch wheelbase. The line-up offers four trims: Super Exceed and Exceed for the luxury-oriented buyer, and GSR and GLS for more off-road-focused customers. Ground clearance is nine inches, or 230 millimeters, on standard 20-inch wheels, and drivers can select from seven drive modes: Normal, Eco, Gravel, Snow, Mud, Sand and Rock.

U.S. prospects, powertrain and production hurdles

The United States is not included in Mitsubishi's current 100-country global rollout plan, and there is no official confirmation that the new Pajero will be sold there. Executives have not issued a definitive rejection, and industry speculation includes the possibility of a U.S. return under the Montero name, but several obstacles remain.

Most directly, the global model is offered exclusively with a diesel engine, a configuration that faces stringent US emissions requirements. Mitsubishi would need alternative powertrains, potentially including electrified options, to make the vehicle viable in North America. Import tariffs are another constraint: importing a body-on-frame SUV from Thailand into the United States would incur a 25 percent duty, a significant cost for the manufacturer.

A practical route to US sales would be local assembly. Mitsubishi shut its Normal, Illinois plant in 2015, so the company would likely need a manufacturing partnership to build in the United States, for example on Nissan assembly lines in Canton, Mississippi. Industry reporting suggests that, if a program were to proceed, a US launch would not be realistic before 2030 and could occur as a mid-cycle refreshed model rather than as part of the initial global roll-out.

In the meantime Mitsubishi's American range includes the Outlander Sport starting at $23,995, the Eclipse Sportback EV priced at $37,745, and the plug-in hybrid Outlander. Mitsubishi says the Outlander family, including the PHEV variant, accounts for more than 60 percent of the brand's US sales volume.

Production of the Pajero is centred at Mitsubishi's primary hub in Thailand, alongside the Triton. The factory exports worldwide, and Mitsubishi expects deliveries to customers to begin in December.