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Mitsubishi's own Toyota Corolla Cross hybrid rival has been locked in for NZ, but stricter regulations continue to prevent it from reaching Australia.
The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport hybrid small SUV, also known as the Xforce, has moved closer to Australia – but it remains out of bounds for local showrooms.
Mitsubishi New Zealand has confirmed the Outlander Sport hybrid small SUV – a value-focused rival to the Toyota Corolla Cross and Hyundai Kona, first introduced in South-East Asia in 2023 – will launch later this year.
However, a Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson told Drive that the New Zealand confirmation is not a hint of a local introduction, as it still has not been engineered to meet stricter Australian Design Rules.
"The announcement of Outlander Sport HEV (Xforce) pertains to the New Zealand market, where different regulatory requirements apply," the spokesperson said.
"MMAL (Mitsubishi Motors Australia) considered bringing the Xforce to the Australian market as the next generation ASX, however this was precluded due to not meeting Australian Design Regulations."
Instead, the Mitsubishi ASX, which dates back to 2010 and is based on even older underpinnings, was replaced in Australia late last year by the European second-generation ASX, related to the Renault Captur.
The first-generation ASX – also known as the RVR or Outlander Sport, depending on the market – will remain on sale in New Zealand, the company said, and will be sold alongside the Outlander Sport hybrid.
"ASX continues to play a key role in our line-up and remains a very popular option for customers," Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand chief operating officer Tony Johnston said in a media release.
"Outlander Sport sits alongside it, giving buyers another choice within the compact (small) SUV segment."
Similar to Australia, Mitsubishi New Zealand will receive a new electric vehicle later this year, developed by Taiwanese company Foxtron, a subsidiary of contract manufacturer Foxconn.
The New Zealand division also confirmed that "another key model" will arrive by the end of this year, likely the reborn 2027 Pajero off-road SUV, a successor to the current Triton-based Pajero Sport.
"These new models will open the door to entirely new segments for Mitsubishi in New Zealand," Johnston added.
Year-to-date, Mitsubishi is New Zealand's third-best-selling new-car brand, behind Toyota and Ford, while in Australia, it has slipped to eighth place, behind Toyota, Mazda, Kia, Ford, BYD, Hyundai and GWM.
Revealed last year, the Outlander Sport hybrid features a 1.6-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine matched with an electric motor, a high-voltage battery and a two-speed transaxle.
Mitsubishi says the front-wheel-drive SUV is capable of parallel and series hybrid operating modes, "with the system automatically selecting the most efficient set-up based on driving conditions and battery charge".
Available features include a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster, Yamaha speakers, a panoramic sunroof, and selectable drive modes, including Normal, Wet, Gravel and Mud.
The Outlander Sport will also be fitted with autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, leading-vehicle departure warning and adaptive cruise control, while flagship grades will add a surround-view camera with moving object detection.
It is currently unclear whether the Outlander Sport will be submitted for ANCAP crash testing under its latest and most stringent 2026 to 2028 criteria, with a rating specific to the New Zealand market.
In 2023, Mitsubishi Australia anticipated the Xforce – the alternative name for the Outlander Sport – would only receive a three-star rating under the now-superseded 2023 to 2025 testing criteria, limiting its appeal to fleet customers.
"The XFC (Xforce) in its current form can’t be used because of the ANCAP requirements," former Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott said in 2023.
"If we took that XFC platform we would have to re-engineer the entire car for the Australian market, because the requirements of ANCAP are not requirements in the other markets where we will sell that vehicle.
"If you take the numbers – anything between 15,000 and 20,000 [annual sales for a new ASX] – and the tooling investment and re-engineering costs to redesign the car for ANCAP’s requirements will be many, many, many millions of dollars, to be able to sell 20,000 vehicles a year?
"The numbers just don’t stack up."
While it shares a similar name to the Outlander family SUV, the Outlander Sport is unrelated to the larger model, instead sharing its underpinnings with the Mitsubishi Xpander people mover and Destinator seven-seat SUV.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
