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Mitsubishi held a 16 per cent share in the small SUV segment in Australia last month with a number-one finish for the ASX, while the Chery Tiggo 4 allowed the new brand to overtake Hyundai, GWM and MG.
The soon-to-be-replaced Mitsubishi ASX was the best-selling small SUV in Australia in January 2025, months before it is succeeded by a Renault-based model sourced from Europe.
The Japanese brand held a 16 per cent share in the growing 'small SUV under $45,000' segment when the larger Eclipse Cross is included.
Combined, there were 1929 sales of the ASX (1304) and Eclipse Cross (625) in Australia last month, 443 vehicles ahead of newcomer Chery which delivered 1486 vehicles with its Tiggo 4 Pro (1018) and Omoda 5 (468), including the battery-electric Omoda E5.
The rule change relates to autonomous emergency braking technology becoming mandatory in Australia to avoid a collision with another vehicle, with Mitsubishi electing not to invest in updates for the affected vehicles to meet the operational requirements of the legislation.
However Mitsubishi Australia says it expects to have enough stock of the ASX and Eclipse Cross – along with the Pajero Sport off-road SUV which has also ended production – on local shores to last in showrooms until the end of the year.
The Mitsubishi ASX – which launched in Australia in 2010 – will be replaced with a second-generation model in late 2025 heavily based on the Renault Captur, while the future of the eight-year-old Eclipse Cross is less clear with Mitsubishi Australia required to wait until an appropriate successor emerges globally.
The Captur-based, Spanish-built ASX is expected to be dearer than the current Mitsubishi-developed, Japanese-made model, which starts from $24,490 before on-road costs – or around $26,000 drive-away – for the entry-level GS manual.
It also has a smaller footprint closer in size to a Mazda CX-3, rather than a Mazda CX-30 like today's ASX.
Last month, the Mitsubishi ASX and Hyundai Kona were followed by the GWM Haval Jolion (1286), MG ZS (1212), Mazda CX-30 (1085) and Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (1018), with the entire segment up 6.5 per cent over the same month in 2024 to 11,861 sales.
Of the six best-sellers, four of the models are available for less than $30,000 drive-away: the Mitsubishi ASX, GWM Haval Jolion, MG ZS and Chery Tiggo 4 Pro.
Small SUVs under $45,000 were the third best-selling vehicle segment in Australia in January 2025, behind mid-size SUVs under $60,000 (17,569) and four-wheel-drive utes (14,103).
Best-selling small SUVs under $45,000 in January 2025
Brands which sold the most small SUVs under $45,000 in January 2025
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
