Honda to procure Triton from Mitsubishi Motors, considering sales in Southeast Asia, etc.

Honda is considering sourcing pickup trucks from Mitsubishi Motors and selling them under its own brand with a Honda badge. It is envisaged that it will be sold in Southeast Asia and other regions from 2028 onwards. Utilizing the framework of collaboration between the three companies including Nissan Motors, Honda will also materialize initiatives with Mitsubishi Motors.

Honda will be supplied with the Triton, which is manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors in Thailand. It uses a sturdy ladder-shaped frame called a ladder frame, and is characterized by its high performance on rough, unpaved roads. It was Mitsubishi's best-selling car, with worldwide sales of approximately 130,000 units in fiscal 2015.

Mitsubishi Motors and its major shareholder Nissan have been developing OEMs that produce cars under other companies' brands. Mitsubishi Motors manufactures the Nissan brand light vehicles ``Luke'' and ``Dayz.''

On the other hand, Honda and Mitsubishi do not supply vehicles to each other. In Southeast Asia, Chinese manufacturers are becoming increasingly aggressive, and Honda is hoping to compete by adding a ladder-frame pickup truck to its product lineup, while keeping development costs down.

For Mitsubishi Motors, the factory is operating...