Japan Reintroduces Outdoors Vehicles To Domestic Market

As the popularity of lifestyle vehicles rises in Japan, Japanese automakers are introducing overseas-made models to offer more options to domestic consumers looking for cars suitable for camping and skiing, Kyodo News reported.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will sell the newest iteration of the Triton pickup truck in Japan starting Feb. 15. I Photo: Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will sell the newest iteration of the Triton pickup truck in Japan starting Feb. 15, bringing back the model, popular in Southeast Asia, to the country after a 12-year hiatus.

The latest model of the four-wheel drive vehicle, priced at 4.98 million yen ($33,600) upward and equipped with a high-power diesel engine, newly developed suspension, and seven different driving modes, is produced in Thailand, where the company unveiled it in July, Mainichi Shimbun also reported.

The automaker stopped selling the model in 2011 at home amid shrinking demand but has decided to revive it after people grew interested during the coronavirus pandemic in vehicles that came in handy for outdoor activities, it said.

"We are targeting those who want to own a car that is a little different," said Yoshiki Masuda, Mitsubishi's chief product specialist.

"We hope to revitalize the domestic pickup truck market." Honda Motor Co. will launch its newest India-made SUV, the WR-V, in Japan in its first introduction to the home market of cars made on the subcontinent.

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