Mitsubishi’s Triton workhorse might be a smaller player in the popular one-tonne ute segment compared to the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, but that could all change as supply issues continue to cause delays in rival models.
In 2021, the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger topped the charts as Australia’s favourite models, finding 52,801 and 50,279 new homes respectively.
The next most-popular ute was the Isuzu D-Max (25,117 sales), while the Mitsubishi Triton landed in fourth spot ahead of the Nissan Navara, Mazda BT-50 and GWM Ute with 19,232 new registrations last year.
For the first month of 2022 however, the Triton has jumped up to third place on the ute ladder thanks to 2876 sales, well ahead of the Isuzu D-Max on 1895, and fourth in outright sales.
In fact, so strong was interest in Triton last month, that the 4×4 version actually outsold the equivalent HiLux by 35 units.
The jump in sales for the month of January represents a sizeable 50.7 per cent increase over the same period last year for the Triton, and is notable in an industry that is overall down 4.8 per cent.
So why the surge in interest?
It could be a simple matter of customers buying what is available on dealer lots, as a Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson told CarsGuide the brand has ample stock of its Triton ute available.
“Triton remains a strong value proposition and is a consistent performer month-to-month. Like many, there have been impacts in terms of supply as well as COVID-related impacts restricting the ‘normal’ logistical flow,” they said.
“We did receive some supply-side relief with a large shipment of November production Tritons.
“Overall, the Triton situation is currently in a good place, with around one month of stock currently in the network, and around a quarter’s more supply either on ships or being processed out to dealers by our supply chain partners.”
By comparison, customers looking for a new Toyota HiLux are facing wait times of up to 22 weeks, while it is expected supply of the Ranger will become more limited as the model enters runout and Ford ramps up production of the new-gen version due later this year.
As for the Isuzu D-Max, wait times are reported as up to 25 weeks, meaning if Mitsubishi Triton sales could continue to soar as rivals struggle to fill dealer courtyards with stock.
Keyword: 2022 Mitsubishi Triton in prime position to take advantage of supply-challenged Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max