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159020
Sat, 02/05/2011 - 17:34
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https://www.oananews.org//node/159020
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Mitsubishi Motors to invest $100 mil. in U.S. plant
NORMAL, Illinois, Feb. 4 Kyodo - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will invest about $100 million in its existing plant in Normal, Illinois, to produce the Outlander Sports that the Japanese carmaker has positioned as its global strategic vehicle, the company said Friday.
The firm plans to launch production of the sport utility vehicle in mid-2012. Annual production is projected at 50,000 units, of which some 50 percent will be exported to such regions as Latin America, Russia and the Middle East.
The plant now has some 1,300 workers. Output totaled about 23,000 vehicles in fiscal 2009 that ended last March. The Outlander Sports will replace outdated models for the present production at the plant.
Shinichi Kurihara, president of Mitsubishi Motors North America inc., told reporters, ''The new models will be Mitsubishi Motors' mainstay products.''
With the investment, the automaker hopes to raise the capacity utilization rate at the plant to improve earnings, Kurihara said.
Mitsubishi Motors put the Outlander Sports on sale in the United States in November 2010 and sold about 1,600 units by the end of December. The vehicles for export to the United States are now produced at a plant in Aichi Prefecture in Japan.
The Outlander Sports SUV, named RVR in Japan, features greater fuel efficiency.
Also Friday, Mitsubishi Motors said it will team up with the state of Illinois and Normal city in a business to promote the use of electric vehicles.
Mitsubishi Motors aims to boost sales of its own electric cars by joining forces with the governments to upgrade necessary infrastructure, company officials said.
Under a memorandum signed Friday, the three will cooperate in the area of installing quick chargers for electric cars, with Mitsubishi Motors planning to supply 1,000 units of its i-MiEV electric car to the city and local companies by 2014. The model is scheduled to be launched in the United States at the end of this year.
They will also cooperate in creation and support of new electric car-related businesses, such as recycling of batteries, according to the officials.
''It's essential to promote infrastructure to expand the electric vehicle market,'' Kurihara said at a press conference in Normal.
The market for electric cars is expected to increase, with Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co. launching electric vehicles since late last year in the United States, but insufficient infrastructure remains an issue.
The firm plans to launch production of the sport utility vehicle in mid-2012. Annual production is projected at 50,000 units, of which some 50 percent will be exported to such regions as Latin America, Russia and the Middle East.
The plant now has some 1,300 workers. Output totaled about 23,000 vehicles in fiscal 2009 that ended last March. The Outlander Sports will replace outdated models for the present production at the plant.
Shinichi Kurihara, president of Mitsubishi Motors North America inc., told reporters, ''The new models will be Mitsubishi Motors' mainstay products.''
With the investment, the automaker hopes to raise the capacity utilization rate at the plant to improve earnings, Kurihara said.
Mitsubishi Motors put the Outlander Sports on sale in the United States in November 2010 and sold about 1,600 units by the end of December. The vehicles for export to the United States are now produced at a plant in Aichi Prefecture in Japan.
The Outlander Sports SUV, named RVR in Japan, features greater fuel efficiency.
Also Friday, Mitsubishi Motors said it will team up with the state of Illinois and Normal city in a business to promote the use of electric vehicles.
Mitsubishi Motors aims to boost sales of its own electric cars by joining forces with the governments to upgrade necessary infrastructure, company officials said.
Under a memorandum signed Friday, the three will cooperate in the area of installing quick chargers for electric cars, with Mitsubishi Motors planning to supply 1,000 units of its i-MiEV electric car to the city and local companies by 2014. The model is scheduled to be launched in the United States at the end of this year.
They will also cooperate in creation and support of new electric car-related businesses, such as recycling of batteries, according to the officials.
''It's essential to promote infrastructure to expand the electric vehicle market,'' Kurihara said at a press conference in Normal.
The market for electric cars is expected to increase, with Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co. launching electric vehicles since late last year in the United States, but insufficient infrastructure remains an issue.
