Mitsubishi Motors to set up joint venture in China next June+

TOKYO, Nov. 6 Kyodo - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Saturday it will set up a joint venture in China next June to make cars for the Chinese market, with a plan to increase the Mitsubishi side's annual production capacity to 250,000 units in 2017.

Osamu Masuko, president of the Japanese automaker, told a press conference that
he wants ''Mitsubishi'' to be part of the corporate name of the joint venture
company.
The firm will be established by expanding the operations of GAC Changfeng Motor
Co., an existing joint venture with Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile
Group Co. and others, and turning it into a new ''limited partnership
corporation'' with the two carmakers raising their equity stakes to 50 percent
each.
Mitsubishi Motors and Guangzhou Automobile Group currently hold a 14.59 percent
and 29.0 percent stake respectively in GAC Changfeng.
''We hope to develop (the new joint venture) into one of our pillar
operations,'' Masuko said.
Mitsubishi's current production capacity at GAC Changfeng is 80,000 units per
year, but it plans to begin making a new sport utility vehicle from July 2012.
==Kyodo