Mitsubishi has confirmed it will unveil a new Pajero this fall, but the company has decided not to sell the model in Europe or the United States. That means the SUV will not receive the certification needed for sale in Israel, making commercial imports to the country impossible, according to Walla Cars.
The new generation follows the Pajero nameplate’s long history: the model launched globally in 1982, reached Israel in 1994, and was last sold there until 2018. Its departure left Toyota Land Cruiser effectively alone in the rugged SUV segment in Israel. Mitsubishi says the new Pajero will be a real off-road vehicle built on a ladder-frame platform shared with the current Triton pickup, but with different suspension to improve ride comfort and road handling.
The company has not yet disclosed the powertrain lineup, including whether the SUV will use diesel only or also gasoline hybrid or plug-in hybrid options. For Israelis, the only realistic chance of seeing one on local roads would be if it were bought by UN forces, which are not bound by Israeli certification rules, or in some cases as a commander’s vehicle in the IDF, which has independent licensing authority and has already purchased older Toyota Land Cruiser models without Transport Ministry approval.
For now, Mitsubishi will continue relying in Israel on the seven-seat Outlander. The Japanese ASX and Eclipse Cross have already been dropped in Europe and replaced by badge-engineered Renault-based models. Mitsubishi says the Outlander remains the best-selling non-Chinese three-row crossover, with 2,300 units sold since the start of the year, and it is expected to return to stronger seven-seat sales in Israel. It will not get a plug-in version like Chinese rivals, but it is set to arrive as a mild hybrid.
