All-New Mitsubishi Pajero Already Secured 5,500 Pre-Orders Before It Even Went on Sale

It’s only been four weeks since Mitsubishi opened order books on October 1, 2026, and the firm is seems to be trying to strike while the iron is hot to capitalize on the massive momentum. The automaker has clearly gotten off to a flying start, with the 5,500 pre-orders secured in the first month.

The massive wave of demand for the revived nameplate has already smashed Mitsubishi's domestic sales target of 4,000 units for the entire fiscal year ending in March 2027. In Japan, the Pajero starts at 6,193,000 yen, which translates to roughly $39,300.

In the meantime, Mitsubishi has already received 1,500 orders from Thailand, where it has already gone on sale. The Pajero will launch in Australia in December 2026, targeting 3,000 units through March 2027. Down under, it will kick off at around 70,000 Australian dollars (US $49,200).

Mitsubishi Motors President Keisuke Kishiura revealed that the rugged off-roader is acting as a major "conquest machine," pulling roughly 80% of its customer base in Japan away from direct competitors such as the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Nissan Patrol. 

The Mitsubishi Pajero has the 2.4-liter turbocharged diesel engine under the hood, pushing out 201 horsepower (204 metric horsepower) and 354 pound-feet (480 Newton meters) of torque. A newly developed eight-speed automatic transmission puts the power down through all four corners with the help of Mitsubishi's heavy-duty Super Select 4WD-II system.

The setup has to pull a vehicle that weighs 5,284 pounds (2,397 kilograms), measuring 193.7 inches (4,920 millimeters) in length, 75.8 inches (1,925 millimeters) in width, and 75.2 inches (1,910 millimeters) in height, while sitting on a wheelbase of 113.0 inches (2,870 millimeters).

Customers will be able to choose one of the four trims available in the lineup: the luxury-focused Super Exceed and Exceed and the rugged, off-road-ready GSR and GLS. With nine inches (230 millimeters) of ground clearance on the standard 20-inch wheels, the SUV comes with seven selectable drive modes: Normal, Eco, Gravel, Snow, Mud, Sand, and Rock.

There is no official confirmation that the fifth-generation Pajero will come to the United States. For the moment, the U.S. is excluded from the current 100-country global rollout plan. In the meantime, Mitsubishi executives have not said a definiteive "No." Rumors have it that the automaker is planning a U.S. return of the Pajero under the Montero badge.

However, there are several factors that might keep it at bay, and the powertrain is definitely one of them. The newly launched global model runs exclusively on the 2.4-liter turbocharged diesel engine. With the emission regulations notoriously stringent regarding diesel passenger vehicles, Mitsubishi simply cannot sell the current version over here. 

For the Pajero/Montero to become viable on the U.S. market, Mitsubishi will have to consider alternative powertrain configurations beyond the diesel, including potential electrification. However, developing a powertrain would finally shake the firm, so technical partnerships would be the silver bullet.

Still, taxes for imported goods, imposed by the Trump administration, are highly prohibitive for an automaker that has been struggling. Importing a truck-based body-on-frame SUV from Thailand into the United States would trigger a massive 25% tariff.

The alliance that might be the silver bullet

To bypass the tariffs and sell the model at a competitive price, Mitsubishi would have to build it locally. Mitsubishi closed down its factory in Normal, Illinois, back in 2015. The only way to build vehicles in the U.S. would be through the partnership with Nissan, using the assembly lines at Nissan’s manufacturing center in Canton, Mississippi.

If that actually goes through, the Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero would realistically be able to hit the U.S. market no earlier than 2030, which means the U.S. would likely skip the initial global rollout entirely, debuting stateside directly as a mid-cycle refreshed model. 

For the moment, the Japanese brand is selling an entire lineup of crossovers and SUVs, with the Outlander Sport sitting at the base of its portfolio, with a starting price of $23,995. The firm is also selling the zero-tailpipe-emission Eclipse Sportback EV, which is a $37,745 deal. The plug-in hybrid Outlander is also on the menu. The Outlander, with the PHEV variant included, is the best-selling Mitsubishi model in America, driving over 60% of Mitsubishi's total sales volume.

Built on the high-rigidity, truck-based ladder-frame chassis, shared with the Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck, the SUV rolls off the production line of Mitsubishi’s primary production hub in Thailand. That is where the automaker also builds the Triton. The factory exports worldwide. Deliveries are expected to commence in December.