Mitsubishi just dropped several images of its forthcoming Triton/L200 pickup in “Beast Mode.” It’s the sixth generation of the Triton, a truck once sold in the U.S. Mitsubishi says the Beast Mode shows the “toughness and powerfulness expected of a pickup truck.” OK, then!

It has also dropped a video showing the gestation of the Triton. Debuting later in July, it is still not revealing specifications or engine and trim options. We do know that it is a body-on-frame truck and will be available with a turbodiesel engine. The diesel, at least initially, indicates it is not the version of the truck we get here, if it’s coming here at all. 

Isn’t there already a Mitsubishi truck in the U.S.?

Mitsubishi is building the new Triton in Thailand. So were it to come to the U.S., it would need to be built here due to our chicken tax on imported commercial vehicles. Right now, it is selling in Asian countries, Oceania countries, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. 

Mitsubishi hasn’t sold a truck in the U.S. since the Raider ended production in 2009. Of course, midsize and compact trucks were out of favor. But as the popularity of pickups increased, most automakers jumped back into the segment. Some, like Nissan and Toyota, never left it.

Can a Mitsubishi pickup be made in the U.S.?

The Raider was built for Mitsubishi by Chrysler at the time. The two had a partnership where they shared models under different names. Back then, Chrysler sold it as the Ram 50.

Today, Nissan and Mitsubishi are part of the alliance with Renault. So it is possible that the Triton could share some components with the Nissan Frontier and also share assembly lines at the Frontier’s Canton, Mississippi, plant. Whether it is probable or not, we’ll have to wait and see.

Every automaker sells a truck in the U.S., so why not Mitsubishi?

But look, trucks are huge in the U.S., as you already know. And the compact and midsize segment is boiling over right now. Mitsubishi knows this, as evidenced by its Outlander SUV.

The Outlander has floated up the company over the last couple of years. It is a competitive SUV with matching or better-than features to the rest of the segment. The SUVs are the other segment hot in America, and Mitsubishi, naturally, jumped into it. Without knowing a lot at this time, if the Triton were as dynamic and feature-laden as the Outlander, it could do similar uplifting for the automaker. For that to happen, though, we’ll have to see what the Triton offers once it debuts on July 26 in Thailand. 

We should also say that Mitsubishi has already said it is working on an electric pickup. Though even less is known about this venture, we have some doubts that it would be an EV version of the Triton. So it may decide to pass on bringing it here to instead concentrate on its EV pickup.