Report: Mitsubishi, Japanese Car Giant, to Exit Chinese Market
Mitsubishi, the Japanese automaking giant, is pulling its operations out of China, according to a report from Japanese outlet Nikkei.
Japanese car giant Mitsubishi Motors is looking to pull out of China entirely amid tough competition from domestic rivals and after a months-long production stoppage of its sport utility vehicle (SUV) lineup after years of falling sales, according to reports.
Mitsubishi is in talks with local joint-venture partner Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) on exiting auto-making operations in China, according to the Japanese news outlet Nikkei.
The Nikkei report said that GAC will probably convert their joint-production plant, located in Hunan province, into a production base for electric vehicles (EVs).
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The Japanese automaker did not immediately respond to an Epoch Times request for confirmation of its exit plan, but a spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company is “discussing future plans among shareholders and nothing is finalized yet.”
The development follows news in July that Mitsubishi’s joint venture with Chinese state-owned GAC was looking to cut staff after sharp sales declines for its SUVs.
At the time, GAC said in a statement that the joint venture, which was launched in 2012, would try to restructure its operations in a bid to rescue the partnership.
Mitsubishi said at the time that its China unit had fallen on hard times and that it was reviewing different parts of its business, with a view to revitalizing operations.
Earlier this year, Mitsubishi said it was suspending production of its Outlander SUV in China for three months and that it would take a $78 million charge for slowing sales at the joint venture.
Then, in May, Mitsubishi said it would extend the suspension indefinitely, though a spokesperson said it was in talks with its Chinese partner on resuming operations.
Those talks now appear to have led nowhere as Mitsubishi is looking for the exits, according to Nikkei.
Mitsubishi and other Japanese automakers face a deepening sales slump in China as a rapid transition to EVs has led to tanking demand for gasoline-powered cars.
In 2022, Mitsubishi’s sales in China totaled 38,550 cars, down 60 percent from the year before
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