35 Facts About Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

In 2011, Mitsubishi Motors was the sixth-largest Japanese automaker and the 19th-largest worldwide by production.

Since October 2016, Mitsubishi Motors has been one-third owned by Nissan, thus a part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Motors Alliance.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, which builds commercial-grade trucks, buses, and heavy construction equipment, was formerly a part of Mitsubishi Motors, but is separate, and is owned by German automotive corporation Daimler Truck .

Central Japan Heavy-Industries, now known as Shin Mitsubishi Motors Heavy-Industries, had already re-established an automotive department in its headquarters in 1953.

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Mitsubishi Motors Corporation was formed on 22 April 1970, as a wholly owned subsidiary of MHI under the leadership of Tomio Kubo, a successful engineer from the aircraft division.

Mitsubishi Motors finally achieved annual production of a million cars in 1980, but by this time, its ally was not so healthy; as part of its battle to avoid bankruptcy, Chrysler was forced to sell its Australian manufacturing division to MMC that year.

In 1982, the Mitsubishi Motors brand was introduced to the American market for the first time.

Mitsubishi Motors went public in 1988, ending its status as the only one of Japan's 11 auto manufacturers to be privately held.

The capital raised by this initial offering enabled Mitsubishi Motors to pay off part of its debts, as well as to expand its investments throughout Southeast Asia, where it was by now operating in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand.

In 1982 and 1983, Mitsubishi Motors introduced the Australian-built Mitsubishi Motors Sigma to the UK as the Lonsdale YD41 in an attempt to circumvent British import quotas, but the new brand was unsuccessful.

Malaysian manufacturer Proton was initially very dependent on Mitsubishi Motors, assembling their 1985 Proton Saga using mostly MMC components at a newly established facility in Shah Alam.

Mitsubishi Motors participated in a joint venture with rival carmaker Volvo and the Dutch government at the former DAF plant in Born in 1991.

In Indonesia, Mitsubishi Motors offered the Colt T120SS light truck between 1991 and 2019 based on the Suzuki Carry.

In Japan, Mitsubishi Motors had rebadged the Suzuki Solio as the Delica D:2 and the Suzuki Every as the Minicab.

Mitsubishi Motors has been allied with Groupe PSA since 1999, after they agreed to co-operate on the development of diesel engines using the Japanese company's gasoline direct injection technology.

In Europe, Mitsubishi Motors used diesel engines supplied by German manufacturer Volkswagen for some of its mid-sized cars, such as the Lancer, Grandis, and Outlander.

Mitsubishi Motors maintained two retail sales channels that sold specific models, called "Car Plaza" and "Galant Shop".

Benefits Mitsubishi Motors had seen because of its strong presence in South-east Asia reversed themselves as a result of the economic crisis in the region, which began in 1991 with the advent of the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble, referred to in Japan as the beginning of the Lost Decade and continued to 1997.

In November 1997, Mitsubishi Motors hired Katsuhiko Kawasoe to replace Takemune Kimura as company president.

In what was referred to as "one of the largest corporate scandals in Japanese history", Mitsubishi Motors was twice forced to admit to systematically covering up defect problems in its vehicles.

On 5 February 2008, Mitsubishi Motors Australia announced it would be closing down its Adelaide assembly plant by the end of March.

In 1988, Mitsubishi Motors opened a production facility in the United States in Normal, Illinois.

Finally, in July 2015, Mitsubishi Motors announced that it would close the plant by November, but would continue to sell automobiles in North America.

Mitsubishi Motors announced that the company would leave the UK market due to financial reasons by Autumn 2021.

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At the time, Mitsubishi Motors manufactured micro cars for Nissan, which had never produced that class of vehicle itself.

Mitsubishi Motors admitted that they had been giving wrong information on fuel consumption from 2002 onwards, using inaccurate test methods.

Mitsubishi Motors management said they did not know about the issue and that the wrong information came from the micro car development department.

In May 2016, Mitsubishi Motors announced Tetsuro Aikawa was to resign as the president of the company in effect in June.

Mitsubishi Motors said much of the mileage-testing work was assigned to a subsidiary and a lack of scrutiny existed of such work.

Mitsubishi Motors has been active in OEM production of cars for Nissan, and announced a similar partnership with Groupe PSA in July 2005 to manufacture an SUV on their behalf.

Nissan stated that no major changes were planned for Mitsubishi Motors and sharing of technologies and platforms can be expected between the two automobile manufactures.

Mitsubishi Motors started selling its i MiEV, the all-electric minicar with a lithium-ion battery pack tucked under its floor, to retail customers in the summer 2009, a year ahead of schedule.

Mitsubishi Motors is the most successful manufacturer in the history of the Dakar Rally.

Mitsubishi Motors has had a 30-year-long association with actor Jackie Chan, who has used their vehicles almost exclusively in his movies throughout his career.