1 day ago
8
Mitsubishi has culled the current ASX, Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport SUVs as they are set to fall foul of imminent safety regulations, but most will return at a later date.
Mitsubishi Australia has been forced to axe the current ASX small SUV, Eclipse Cross small SUV and Pajero Sport off-roader as they will fall foul of new safety rules due within weeks.
From 1 March 2025, all new vehicles will require car-to-car autonomous emergency braking (AEB) technology, which is designed to slam on the brakes if it detects an imminent rear-end collision with a vehicle ahead.
New imports of the ASX, Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport will cease, but examples complied with Australian Design Rules prior to 1 March 2025 can continue to be sold.
Mitsubishi Australia says it has prepared ample stock of the three models to see it through to the end of the year, while production of all three will continue for overseas markets.
According to the ADR 98/00 legislation, “the function of this vehicle standard is to specify requirements for Advanced Emergency Braking Systems fitted to passenger vehicles, and to light goods vehicles, to avoid or mitigate the severity of rear-end in lane collision”.
Digging into the legislation further, the ADR refers to the United Nations Regulation No. 152 as a technical basis for the system's requirements, which further outlines some pitfalls the three Mitsubishi models could have run afoul.
The AEB reaction time, brake force, operational speed, and more factors play into meeting the criteria, and with the Eclipse Cross having first launched in 2017 with the crash-avoidance technology, it is unclear where it does not meet the requirements.
Likewise, the Pajero Sport, which first launched in Australia in 2015, features AEB, but similarly falls short in ADR criteria.
As for the ASX, it was first introduced in Australia in 2010, AEB only becoming standard across the line-up in 2020, while it was available in higher grades and optional on the entry-level variant prior.
Mitsubishi Australia boss Shawn Westcott said it was not financially viable to update the three models to meet the incoming mandate, despite the brand's product range being more than halved.
“Given the position of ASX, Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport in their current life cycles, investment towards the re-engineering of these vehicles to incorporate the new ADRs was not commercially feasible,” said Westcott.
“As a result, Australian production of these vehicles has ended. This is not unprecedented; we have seen similar situations before, and our teams are well prepared to manage this transition.
“We have worked closely with our dealer partners to ensure each model line will be ordered in sufficient quantities ahead of time. This will support our customers while we continue to confirm our future model plans as a core Mitsubishi market. We will announce these future models in due course.”
It is already confirmed the ASX will be succeeded by a new-generation model, sharing the platform and technologies with the Renault Captur, due later this year.
The Pajero Sport is also expected to be refreshed with an all-new version next year, based on the latest Triton ute.
As for the Eclipse Cross, it remains unclear if an immediate successor is on the horizon, but Mitsubishi Australia has committed to launching eight new and refreshed models by the end of the decade with a commitment to remain in popular segments like the small SUV space.
Sales of Mitsubishi Australia’s top-selling Outlander and Triton models will not be affected by the new ADR mandate.
Of note, the ASX was the brand’s third-best selling model last year, notching 12,330 sales, behind the Outlander (27,613) and Triton (18,077).
The Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport, meanwhile, contributed 9221 and 7306 respectively to Mitsubishi Australia’s overall tally, which reached 74,547 units to finish as the fifth most popular brand in market.
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
