Japan automakers tap foreign models to drive sales of outdoorsy cars

As the popularity of lifestyle vehicles rises in Japan, domestic automakers are introducing overseas-made models to offer more options to domestic consumers looking for cars suitable for camping and skiing.

Mitsubishi Motors will sell the newest iteration of the Triton pickup truck in Japan starting Feb. 15, bringing back the model, popular in Southeast Asia, to the country after a 12-year hiatus.

The latest model of the four-wheel drive vehicle, priced at ¥4.98 million ($33,600) upward and equipped with a high-power diesel engine, newly developed suspension and seven different driving modes, is produced in Thailand, where the company unveiled it in July.

The automaker stopped selling the model in 2011 at home amid shrinking demand but has decided to revive it after people grew interested during the COVID-19 pandemic in vehicles that came in handy for outdoor activities, it said.

“We are targeting those who want to own a car that is a little different,” said Yoshiki Masuda, Mitsubishi’s chief product specialist. “We hope to revitalize the domestic pickup truck market.”

Honda Motor will launch its newest India-made SUV, the WR-V, in Japan in its first introduction to the home market of cars made in the subcontinent.

The compact SUV, boasting large luggage room and spacious backseats, is priced at ¥2.09 million. The new model will add to the company’s domestic SUV lineup — the Vezel and the ZR-V — and target young people who are purchasing SUVs for the first time, the company said.

The popularity of SUVs and pickup trucks has been on the rise in Japan since even before the pandemic on the back of the increasing popularity of outdoor activities, with Toyota Motor bringing its pickup truck Hilux back into its domestic lineup in 2017 after a 13-year break.