The Mitsubishi Triton enjoyed its best month of sales since June 2018, thanks to a big shipment of cars arriving to satiate built-up demand.
Not only was it up almost 1000 sales compared to January 2022, and up 116.4 per cent on the same point in 2021, the 3811 recorded deliveries were enough to place the Triton third on the overall sales charts.
It’s currently nipping at the heels of the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux on the 4×4 sales charts based on year-to-date sales
It’s the third-best month the Triton 4×4 and 4×2 utes have ever achieved in Australia, behind June 2018 (3919 sales) and June 2014 (4124 sales).
It’s worth noting both previous records lined up with the end of financial year, traditionally a massive month for commercial vehicles.
A Mitsubishi spokesperson said the big month (along with the smaller months leading up to it) have been driven by “strong fluctuations in supply”, and is representative of big Triton shipments that touched down late in 2021 being delivered to customers.
Sales of the Triton in February were almost exclusively 4×4 models. Of the 3811 cars sold, just 350 were the less expensive, more fleet-focused 4×2.
The current-generation Triton is approaching the end of its life. We’re expecting the next-generation model to show its face during 2022 or early in 2023, and we’ve already snapped it testing in northern Sweden.
Although its sheetmetal looks familiar, with Mirage headlights on a current-generation ute body, the wheelbase and track of this mule appear different.
The redesigned Triton is expected to share a platform with the next Nissan Navara and could offer a plug-in hybrid down the track.
The diesel launch model, which is of far more importance here for now, has been reported as set for a late 2022 or a 2023 premiere.
Mitsubishi Australia says it’s been involved in the new Triton project since the beginning, as well.
“Triton is a really important product for us, and it’s a really important product for MMC globally, so we’ve been part of that project since day one,” Mitsubishi Australia head of product strategy Owen Thomson told CarExpert last year.
“It’s all about the specification, even to the extent of styling. We’ve had a number of trips to Japan to review the styling model, and had input into that,” he said.
