Mitsubishi’s Nissan-Based Pickup Puts The Brand Back In America

• Mitsubishi will re-enter the US midsize pickup market via a joint program with Nissan.
• Reports indicate a ladder-frame midsize truck offering gas and hybrid options, though Mitsubishi hasn’t confirmed platform or engines.
• By 2027 Mitsubishi’s US lineup expands from four to six models; Eclipse Sportback EV arrives fall, Outlander variant Q1 2027.

Mitsubishi is ready to sell a truck in the US again, and Nissan is doing the heavy lifting. The updated Momentum 2030 plan shown to dealers outlines a Nissan-built pickup for Mitsubishi in North America, without public confirmation yet on size, specifications, or production timing.

Mitsubishi Pickup For America In Nissan Partnership

Mitsubishi has not named the truck, but internal sketches show a boxy body and split LED headlights that move away from its current SUV styling. Key points like whether it is midsize or full-size and which engines it uses remain officially open.

The Nissan link is important because Nissan already sells the Frontier in the US, giving Mitsubishi a quicker route than engineering a clean-sheet truck. Coverage of the Nissan Navara’s specs and platform has flagged that architecture as a likely template, even as Mitsubishi avoids confirming a Frontier- or Navara-based chassis.

Where The Truck Lands In Momentum 2030

The truck follows two other alliance products. The Eclipse Sportback EV, an electric hatchback supplied by Nissan and based on the next Nissan Leaf with Mitsubishi-specific sheet metal, is scheduled to reach US and Canadian dealers in the second half of 2026. A more rugged, off-road-oriented Outlander variant is due in the first quarter of 2027, with the pickup expected sometime after those launches.

By then, Mitsubishi’s US range is slated to grow beyond today’s Outlander Sport, Eclipse Cross, Outlander, and Outlander PHEV to include the Eclipse Sportback EV and the Nissan-built truck, even though Mitsubishi has not promised that both existing compact crossovers stay unchanged. That broader lineup is one pillar of the Momentum 2030 plan, alongside electrification, a more modern retail approach, and dealer network growth detailed in Mitsubishi’s own Momentum 2030 dealer plan through 2030.

Separately, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Japan has teed up the next Pajero, known historically in North America as the Montero, for a world premiere this autumn, with the official teaser site marking September 2. Mitsubishi’s mid- to long-term vision materials treat Pajero and any Montero return as a separate ladder-frame flagship SUV project, not a confirmed spin-off of the US pickup, even as some coverage raises the prospect of a body-on-frame SUV sharing truck hardware. For now, the Nissan-built Mitsubishi pickup and any revived Montero remain two different programs.

Motor1’s Take: Using alliance hardware gives Mitsubishi a fast, lower-cost path back into trucks, which dealers have been asking for and which could help shore up the brand’s US presence. Shared bones will not be enough by themselves as Mitsubishi has to deliver its own tuning, design, and ownership story so the pickup feels like a Mitsubishi, not just a badge swap.