Mitsubishi is developing two hybrid SUVs, with production potentially starting as soon as 2028.

According to Nikkei Asia, these models will draw from the Japan-built Outlander and the RVR. In Japan, the RVR is the original ASX nameplate, which Mitsubishi Australia swapped last year for a rebadged Renault Captur.

By 2028, the debut ASX would be old enough to vote if it were human, pointing to a fresh model in the works. The aging ASX lingers in fewer markets like the US and has vanished from Japan.

The upcoming hybrid Outlander and RVR/ASX will mark Mitsubishi's first internally engineered hybrids beyond compact kei cars.

Even as demand surges for hybrid SUVs in places like Australia and the US, Mitsubishi still has significant holes in its portfolio - alongside a target for hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and EVs to make up 50 percent of worldwide sales by 2030.

Mitsubishi has sold hybrid and PHEV variants of the European ASX, but skipped major regions such as Japan, Australia, Southeast Asia, and North America.

The brand does field a compact hybrid SUV in Southeast Asia via the 2024 Xforce, though it's confined to select markets beyond that area.

Japan and Australia are excluded, as Mitsubishi Motors Australia noted the Xforce fails local compliance standards.

Mitsubishi pioneered PHEVs ahead of rivals, yet Nikkei Asia notes the Outlander PHEV's steep pricing has curbed its Japanese popularity.

No standard hybrid Outlander exists, even with alliance mates Renault and Nissan providing them - Mitsubishi sticks to PHEV or a mild-hybrid 1.5-litre turbo petrol in spots like the US.

The present Outlander began production in 2021, making it seven years mature when the hybrid debuts - likely aligning with the next-generation midsize SUV.

Japan saw 1.53 million hybrid car sales versus under 50,000 apiece for PHEVs and EVs, spurring Mitsubishi to catch up.

Hybrid demand also thrives in the US and Australia, but target export destinations for the new Outlander and ASX hybrids remain unspecified.

Mitsubishi grapples with challenges in Southeast Asia and Australia amid aggressive Chinese brand advances.

Southeast Asian profits plunged from 63.6 billion yen in fiscal 2019 to 19.8 billion yen in fiscal 2024, heightening US dependence - now strained by tariffs hitting margins.

Spotlight shifts to Japan, where Mitsubishi claims just over two percent market share.

Data from Nippon.com shows 117,874 units delivered in 2025, a 1.3 percent year-on-year dip, edging Subaru (111,297) but trailing other key Japanese marques.

Australia witnessed a sharper 17.9 percent sales fall to 61,198 units last year.

New rules halted Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport imports, while the affected ASX gave way to a Spanish Renault-derived successor.

Mitsubishi clung to sixth in 2025 rankings but sits eighth through April this year, surpassed by BYD and GWM.