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Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is ending its vehicle production in China, and this decision comes amid the rigid competition in the country's auto market. The Japanese carmaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, also confirmed slow sales, which was the main reason for the move.
According to Reuters, Mitsubishi Motors cannot keep up with the fierce price competition in China, which Stellantis and Hyundai Motor are currently leading. It will now be taking steps to reduce costs through restructuring.
Joint Venture in China
As Mitsubishi Motors carries out its cost reduction plan, it will restructure its joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group. The firm said on Tuesday that it also booked a special loss of 24.3 billion yen or about $162.3 million in the fiscal year ending in March 2024.
In any case, Mitsubishi Motors allied with GAC to establish a joint venture in 2012. The company said that after transferring its JV stake to Guangzhou Automobile, its Chinese partner will own the joint entity.
Moreover, once the company fully exits production, the JV plant will shift to manufacturing GAC's Aion cars starting in June 2024. Since it can use another plant, GAC will eventually expand its EV production capacity to 60,000 units per year.
Investment in Renault's Ampere EV Division
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors confirmed investing in Renault's Ampere electric vehicle unit for EV development technology. The French automaker's chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard, said they welcome the investment and look forward to a great partnership.
"For Mitsubishi Motors, the investment comes as an ambitious step forward in its mid-term management plan announced in March 2023, where Mitsubishi Motors committed to the development of electric vehicles and to strengthen cooperation with its Alliance members toward the acceleration phase of electrification," the company said in a press release. "The maximum investment in Ampere will be 200 million euros."
Photo by: Heshan Perera/Unsplash
