Mitsubishi continues to debate whether its sole U.S. plant has a future
By Andrew C., 30 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
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Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is considering the actions it will take with regards to its sole US plant in Normal, IL. At the North American International Auto Show, Mitsubishi Motors North America CEO Shinichi Kurihara said that the company is thinking about its future and the fact that it cannot think about (production) just for Illinois. Mitsubishi has to decide first
on the proper allocation of models for all its global manufacturing plants before it can make a move on the Normal facility, which has been producing significantly under capacity for years. Kurihara said that the carmaker needs more time to finalize its long-range product plan. He added that if ever Mitsubishi decides to maintain a U.S. manufacturing footprint, then Normal likely would continue to be a source of larger vehicles.
He noted the difficulty in building smaller A- or B-segment cars in the U.S. and selling them at a low cost. Kurihara said that he prefers using Normal as a source of greater volumes, due to the current weak dollar/strong yen, which makes the U.S. a more compelling production base.
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