Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors is all set to close shops of its legendary Pajero manufacturing unit in Sakahogi, Japan. The reason cited for the shutdown is the on-going COVID-19 pandemic leading to a steep fall in the sales. Making it difficult and unprofitable to operate the Pajero manufacturing facility.
The designated plant produced over 60,000 units accounting to almost 10% of Mitsubishi Motors’ overall domestic production.
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- The closure of the production unit will also affect the production of the Delica Minivan and the Outlander SUV.
- The production of these models is expected to be relocated to the Okazaki manufacturing unit in the Aichi Prefecture city of Okazaki.
- The Mitsubishi Pajero is considered as an off-roading institution in the country has also been the only support structure Mitsubishi had in the domestic market.
- The Pajero was first introduced in 1982 and has a total of four generations.
- The second and third-generation models were introduced in 1991 and 1999 respectively, while the fourth-generation made its debut 2006 Paris Motor Show.
- The Mitsubishi Pajero was sold in over 70 countries with different names including Shogun and the Montero.
- The Final facelift of the Pajero SUV named the “Final Edition” was discontinued in 2019 in Japan.
- The model was limited to a mere 700 units and featured many unique and luxurious features.
- Although, the Indian-Spec variant also received a facelift in the form of the Pajero Sport.
- The Pajero Sport features a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine capable of producing 176hp with 400 Nm of peak torque.
