UPDATE 1AUTOSHOWMbishi Motors to export cars to China from US
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By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent
GENEVA, March 4 (Reuters) - Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp
(7211.T: Quote, Profile, Research) will begin exporting the Eclipse sports car to China
from its underused factory in the U.S. state of Illinois this
year, its president said on Tuesday.
The struggling Japanese automaker last week announced a new
medium-term business plan that counts on emerging markets such
as Russia, Ukraine, China and the Middle East to make up for an
expected fall in sales in Japan and North America.
“Globally, we’re running short of capacity at our
factories,” President Osamu Masuko told Reuters in an interview
at the Geneva International Motor Show.
“The exception is the United States, but we’re going to try
to fill that by boosting exports, including by starting
shipments to China.”
The company’s factory in Normal, Illinois, has annual
production capacity of 110,000 vehicles, but now builds about
70,000 to 80,000 cars. It has been trying to fill the gap with
exports to the Middle East, the Americas, Russia and Ukraine.
Masuko said the Eclipse would probably go on sale in China
around October or November, with sales expected to hit about
1,000 units this year.
Mitsubishi Motors’ factories in Japan and Thailand are
running at full tilt, while its Dutch plant will reach full
production of 90,000 units this year, Masuko said. The company
last month announced the closure of a loss-making factory in
Australia. Continued…
