Mitsubishi Triton Hybrid engineers find BYD Shark 6 PHEV's off-road limits

One of Mitsubishi’s chief engineers has told media that the forthcoming hybrid version of the Triton ute will stick with a mechanical four-wheel drive system after his team tested a BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) dual-cab to its breaking point.

Speaking at the 2025 Tokyo motor show, Mitsubishi Motors engineering fellow Kaoru Sawase told journalists he had taken a BYD Shark 6 off-road at the Tokachi proving ground in Hokkaido – and he passed critical judgement.

“At this moment, BYD’s Shark or other vehicle off-road capability is not so high at this moment,” Sawase-san said. “For a while they climb it up, but they can stop – the system [protection] connection kicks in. “So, my feeling is that the electrified off-road vehicle development is a challenge.”

BYD Australia doesn’t pitch the Shark 6 as an off-roader in quite the same way the Triton and rivals such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux are.

Yet it’s the Shark 6’s protection systems, designed to combat overheating, which have influenced the decision to develop a different hybrid system for the Triton instead of using the setup from its popular Outlander PHEV. 

CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal.

The Japanese automaker previously confirmed it’s working on both PHEV and conventional hybrid powertrains for the Triton, sharing the news at the launch of the current generation in 2023.

It could also use the same hybrid tech in a new off-road SUV to replace the Pajero Sport, which may see the return of the Pajero name to the lineup after a concept vehicle with an off-road tilt was shown at the Tokyo show this week. 

The upcoming 2026 Nissan Navara will also share its ladder-frame platform with the latest Triton.

Sawase-san – dubbed the Godfather of Mitsubishi’s Super-All Wheel Drive Control (S-AWC) system – said that “mechanical 4WD” is better for a pure off-road vehicle (unlike the Shark 6 which has an electronic 4×4 system), but stopped short of confirming the hybrid Triton will employ a mechanical four-wheel drive system.

Yet the Mitsubishi engineer was not dismissive of the BYD dual-cab, which has been selling strongly since its introduction in Australia last February.

“On the other hand, we have a lot to learn from the Chinese,” Sawase-san said. “[Until the protection system kicks in], the performance of the electric model – controlling the tyres – is quite good, untilthe heat goes up and the system stops.

“The performance and the control is quite good, and we have to learn from them.”

Sawase-san said “there’s a need to develop Triton HEV” to meet tightening emissions standards globally, and that Mitsubishi is “considering”, but he did not confirm it is definitely coming.

But when asked whether he would be happy with a plug-in Triton and how soon it would be released, he said: “Yes, we now feel we have to launch it as soon as we can, but we cannot disclose the exact timeline.”

Asked if a hybrid Triton ould be launched within the next couple of years, Sawase-san said: “I think…we do, we can”.

MORE: Explore the Mitsubishi Triton showroom