Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (in Japanese: 三菱自動車工業株式会社, in romaji: Mitsubishi Jidōsha Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha, in pinyin: Sanling Zidongche Gongye Zhushi Huishe) TYO: 7211 is a Japanese automobile company, manufacturing an extensive range of cars and trucks (see Fuso). Mitsubishis are manufactured globally and exported into most major markets, including the Far East, Europe, and the U.S..

History

Mitsubishi had been engaged in a long-term venture with Chrysler (now DaimlerChrysler), assembling a series of cars and trucks for Chrysler brands since the 1970s. Some Chrysler cars use Mitsubishi componentry, but have been gravitating toward more use of Mercedes-Benz componentry, which is considered superior. DaimlerChrysler recently announced that it was withdrawing all financial support and sold its shares in MMC. However, Mitsubishi will still be able to build the Dakota-based Raider and Chrysler will still use a Mitsubishi-based chassis for its Stratus/Sebring replacements.

For many years, Mitsubishi did not sell in North America under its own brand. That began changing in the United States in 1982. Many of Mitsubishi's early exports bore Chrysler brands such as the Chrysler Valiant (in Australia), Dodge and Plymouth. In some countries, Colt was used as the marque. Beginning in 1989, the Eagle brand was used for some Mitsubishi products in the US.

Mitsubishi has also exported car platform designs and manufacturing knowledge to Hyundai in South Korea and Proton in Malaysia.

Mitsubishi has a long association with movie star Jackie Chan. Chan always uses Mitsubishi vehicles in his movies, and at one time owned 56 Mitsubishis.

Recovery from financial troubles

Mitsubishi has recently fallen on hard economic times. With the exception of the Lancer Evolution rally homologation car and Endeavor SUV, sales have dropped dramatically, especially in the critical U.S. 18–35 youth market the company once dominated. A key problem was an over-extension of easy credit to those young buyers, particularly with its "0-0-0" car loans. These enabled buyers to purchase a car with no deposit, zero payments and zero interest for a year - making it easy for them to hand back the keys after 12 months. These loans were liberally extended to consumers in the early 2000s. DaimlerChrysler has refused to buy more Mitsubishi stock than it already has, and the company is scrambling to develop more cars to both re-establish its position in the youth market and compete in the mainstream market against companies such as Toyota and Honda.