Mitsubishi Motors’s Global Production Capacity: Factory Utilization Rate to Be Raised to Over 80% in FY 2022

Mitsubishi Motors ended production in Western Europe in FY 2012 and in the United States in FY 2015, shifting to an overseas production system centered on ASEAN. Looking at FY 2020, production in Japan accounted for 45% of all production followed by ASEAN with 39%. The automaker plans to end operation of Pajero Manufacturing, one of three factories in Japan, in August 2021 due to slumping sales. After the closure, ASEAN is expected to become even more important as a production base in the future.

In ASEAN, it is likely that Mitsubishi will further strengthen its production system in the future. The construction of a new plant in Myanmar is also considering; however, no specific progress has been announced so far. On the other hand, the domestic production system will be optimized and the operating rate, which has been less than 80% since FY 2019, will be raised to 83%. Meanwhile the Mizushima Plant, located in Okayama prefecture Japan, will produce a new mini BEV jointly developed with Nissan. It is unclear whether the production capacity of the factory will be increased, but the automaker plans to build a new production line for EVs.