Honda to launch Mitsubishi Triton-based pickup in ASEAN in 2028 under first-ever supply MOU
Honda and Mitsubishi Motors have signed their first-ever memorandum of understanding for complementary vehicle supply, with a Honda-badged model built on the Mitsubishi Triton pickup due in ASEAN in 2028.
- 2028
- 3
- August 1, 2024
- one-ton pickup
What Happened
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding in Tokyo on October 22, 2026 for the development of a Honda model based on the Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck. It is the first initiative between the two companies for complementary supply to each other's product lineups. The new Honda model is scheduled to go on sale in the ASEAN market in 2028. The two companies said they reached the agreement after determining the collaboration would generate synergies for both.
Honda, Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. sign an MOU setting the framework of a strategic partnership, including exploration of collaboration in various areas.
Honda and Mitsubishi Motors sign their first-ever MOU for complementary automobile product supply, covering a Honda model based on the Mitsubishi Triton.
The new Honda model derived from the Triton is scheduled to go on sale in the ASEAN market.
- Adds a pickup truck to its lineup primarily in the ASEAN market, where it does not currently offer pickup truck models, enhancing its lineup quickly and efficiently
- Can increase production volume and improve capacity utilization at its production plant in Thailand
- The MOU covers development of a Honda model based on the Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck.
- It is the first initiative between the two companies for complementary supply to each other's product lineups.
- The Honda model is scheduled to go on sale in the ASEAN market in 2028.
- The collaboration sits within the framework of the strategic partnership MOU signed on August 1, 2024 by Honda, Mitsubishi Motors and Nissan.
- The Triton is a one-ton pickup truck built on a robust ladder frame and one of Mitsubishi Motors' global strategic models, in high demand particularly in the ASEAN region.
The arrangement is one of the opportunities the three companies have been exploring from both short- and medium-to-long-term perspectives. Complementary supply is intended to let them use each other's globally competitive automobile products to quickly and efficiently enhance their respective product lineups, aligned to the business environment and customer needs of each company in different regions. Going forward, the three companies said they will continue to deepen their strategic partnership to strengthen competitiveness and the ability to meet diverse customer needs while fully utilizing their respective products and technological assets.
Why this matters
The deal gives Honda a pickup truck in the ASEAN market, where it currently offers none, without developing one from scratch, while giving Mitsubishi Motors higher output and better plant utilization in Thailand. It is the first concrete initiative to emerge from a three-company partnership framework that also includes Nissan, so it signals how the alliance partners intend to fill gaps in each other's lineups region by region.
Terms in This Story
- MOU
- Memorandum of understanding: a formal document recording that two or more parties have agreed on an intended course of action, but which is generally not a binding contract.
- ladder frame
- A truck chassis built from two parallel longitudinal rails joined by cross members, a sturdy structure commonly used for pickups that carry heavy loads or drive on rough roads.
- ASEAN
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional grouping whose member markets are often treated together by automakers when planning sales and production.
- capacity utilization
- The share of a factory's maximum possible output that is actually being used, a measure of how efficiently a plant is running.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.