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Mitsubishi To Build A Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Rival?

Mitsubishi currently sells a mid-size pickup truck in Australia called the Triton, which rivals the Chevrolet Colorado, called the Holden Colorado down under. But when it revealed an off-road concept version – called the Triton Absolute – at this year’s China Auto Show, we were left wondering if the thing would eventually be sold in the U.S., thereby becoming a tangible rival to the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2.

2019 Mitsubishi Triton Absolute Concept 002

When the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 was added to the Colorado lineup in 2017, GM set the bar in North America for midsize off-road pickup trucks. Following a similar formula as the larger Ford F-150 Raptor, the ZR2 brought serious off-road abilities to a midsize truck, something that hadn’t been offered to North American consumers before.

2018 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 exterior 030 off road

In other markets, such as Australia, GM cross-town rival, Ford, offers the Ranger Raptor. That model is powered by a twin-turbocharged (yes, you read that right) 2.0L diesel inline-four. It’s armed to take on the rough stuff thanks to its wider track and Fox Racing Shox internal-bypass dampers. As we write this, Ford still hasn’t confirmed that the Ranger Raptor will be sold in North America.

2018 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 exterior 035 off road

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi currently has a strong presence in Australia with its Triton pickup, which is why it would be safe to assume that the Triton Absolute could eventually be brought to production to take on the Ranger Raptor. Website caradvice.com recently shared trademark filings that would suggest Mitsubishi is in the process of bringing the concept to production.

2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison Exterior Rock Crawl 006

Back in March at the Geneva Auto Show, we sat down with Vincent Cobee, global planning director for Mitsubishi Motors to ask if there were any plans to bring the Triton to the North American market to rival the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford Ranger, GMC Canyon, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Frontier. At the time of our interview, Cobee simply said there were no short term plans to bring its light-duty truck to our market for the simple reason that “penetrating the U.S. market’s truck space is far from an easy task”

He’s not entirely wrong. With the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon cousins tallying up more than 180,000 combined sales a year, and the Toyota Tacoma besting that number by over 100,000 units, it’s fair to assume that the mid-size pickup truck space is dominated by the four current contenders – GM, Ford, Toyota, and Nissan.

2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison Exterior Rock Crawl 012

However, the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 still sits alone at the top of the midsize off-roader mountain as the most capable midsize truck in the New World. If Mitsubishi were to bring its Triton Absolute here, it could theoretically be sold at a more affordable price point than the ZR2, which could give Mitsubishi Motors a competitive advantage in that segment.

We’ll keep our ears to the ground if the tri-diamond does decide to bring the Triton to the States, Canada, or Mexico. In the meantime, subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Colorado newsChevrolet news, and ongoing GM news coverage.

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Comments

  1. Mitsubishi will rival nothing. Too few trucks sold, too few dealers and too few people that care for their products,

    Reply
  2. The front needs more do-dads, plastic pieces, shapes and creases. Or is it just me? Ha!

    Stop with the “can we gather every part on the factory floor and glue them all together on the front end” bull. Tasteless, lazy, and childish.

    Why anyone falls for the , over-wrought piles of plastic posing as rugged, is beyond me.? One swift kick, and the faux, macho facade cracks like a Tonka toy. Stupid deception. Saving weight is understandable, but I swear, children’s toys are not durable for a rock climbing-all terrain vehicle.

    * rant over!

    Reply
  3. Unless Mitsubishi is prepared to manufacture the Triton in the USA, Canada or Mexico. It would be subject to the 25% Chicken Tax, so no way could it be imported at a cost that would rival the ZR2.

    Reply
  4. Mitsubishi is incapable of making relevant vehicles. They need to pull out of the U.S. market just as Suzuki years ago

    Reply
  5. You know when you’ve got a winner when the competition design vehicles that look like your’s and try competing for the same market niche which means Chevrolet needs to take the Colorado ZR2 up another notch by fixing all the little things critics have hated about the Colorado ZR2 over the years.

    Reply
    1. Mitsubishi will never be dominate here, but this does make the case that if your successful with a product everyone is going to come gunning for you. All the more reason for GM to come out with both guns blazing when they come out with a new Colorado and by extension a ZR2. Mits my not be a serious sales contender in the States, but in other parts of the world that will not be the case, also the Ranger will not always be the dog that is now, especially the Raptor version. The ZR2 was a hit and continues to be, room for improvement? Certainly there is. They brought the Colorado here on a budget, breaking into a market that was left for dead they couldn’t justify a huge budget to totally redesign the pickup. However with sales as strong as they are, the business case is now know easy to figure. Don’t overlook anything, GM needs to “bring it” on the second gen Colorado, because everyone is going to be gunning for that number two spot in the midsize market.

      Reply
      1. Actually GM did not limit the budget on the Colorsdo. If they had you would have just got a LHD Holden.

        The problem is there is a wall on what people will pay for a mid size. Once you cross $40k the sales drop fast.

        These vehicles are not unlimited in what you can charge as the full size. Also they have no room price wise for large rebates.

        They can load up the truck with a ton of things but you will then see prices climb $10k or the make cuts in other areas like cheaper frames, a lesser trans axle as standard etc.

        The mid size truck are a balancing act on money.

        We will see some changes on the next gen ad Adaptive Cruise, 360 cameras etc. but again we will not see everything we dream of as again most people will just opt for the larger rebates trucks at a lower price.

        I bought for size but I still was tempted at the Sierra SLT that was loaded for little more. Many are not buying for size and would have bought the larger truck.

        Reply
  6. Last info I saw on Mitsubishi was that there vehicles should have long been out of business based on no profit made per vehicle sales. Mitsubishi CUVs are everywhere, so a return to a pickup and a specialty pickup surely would take sales away from the current pack leaders. Who knows how and even if it could truly be trail competitive.

    Reply

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