The Mitsubishi Pajero iO is a mini SUV

Mini SUV

Mini SUV is a class of small sport utility vehicles with a length under . This class should not be confused with compact SUV, which refers to slightly larger vehicles, from ....

 produced by Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi Motors

is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...

 since June 15, 1998 in three-door form, and August 24, 1998 as a five-door. The "iO" name is derived from the Italian for "me" which, according to Mitsubishi, "generates an image of being easy to get to know, easy to drive, and of being one's very own Pajero".

It was exported as the Montero iO, and to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 as the Pajero Pinin, Shogun Pinin or simply Pinin to honour Pininfarina

Pininfarina

Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...

, which built the local market versions of the car at their factory near Turin, Italy. It has also been produced in Brazil as the Pajero TR4 since 2002 under license. The name was changed after imported versions were referred to as "1.0" instead of "iO", which could lead to confusion about the engine sizes. The Brazilian TR4 has since July 2007 been Mitsubishi's first four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

 flexible-fuel vehicle

Flexible-fuel vehicle

A flexible-fuel vehicle or dual-fuel vehicle is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank...

, running on gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

, ethanol

Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

 or a combination of the two.

The car is also produced in China by Changfeng Automobile as the Changfeng Liebao Feiteng CFA 6400.

Annual production

Year	Production
	Japan	Italy	Brazil
1998	54,262	-	-
1999	51,516	n/a	-
2000	24,783	18,626	-
2001	13,799	12,150	-
2002	8,959	11,300	1,380
2003	9,016	8,313	3,180
2004	8,136	8,579	6,090
2005	3,592	-	5,280
2006	2,564	-	6,060
2007	505	-	9,300