Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an headquarters and sales, distribution
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
Mitsubishi Motors
is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Born in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
History
In 1991, Mitsubishi built the
NedCar
VDL Nedcar is an automotive manufacturing company in Born, Netherlands. Since December 2012 it has been owned by the Dutch industrial conglomerate VDL Groep. Previous owners were Mitsubishi Motors and Volvo Cars. The company had its origins in a ...
plant in the
Netherlands
)
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, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
as a joint venture with
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
and the Dutch government. Mitsubishi bought out its partners in 2001 and became the sole owner of the plant. Mitsubishi entered a joint agreement with the European car manufacturer
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
in 1999. From 1999 onwards, Mitsubishi subcontracted production to
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930.
On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...
in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
with at least 35,000 units being produced annually. In 2010, a legal dispute between Mitsubishi and Pininfarina was settled. The
International Chamber of Commerce
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every s ...
deciding that Mitsubishi had overestimated the demand for the Mitsubishi Colt CZC and caused Pininfarina to lose money as a result of over production.
The European design studio Mitsubishi Design Europe (MDE) and the
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
center Mitsubishi R&D Europe (MRDE) are based at
Trebur
Trebur is a municipality in Groß-Gerau district in Hessen, Germany. It is 13 km southeast of Mainz, and 8 km south of Rüsselsheim.
Geography Location
Trebur is located in the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region. The cities of Mainz, Wiesbade ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports
Ralliart is the high-performance and motorsports division of Mitsubishi Motors. It was responsible for development and preparation of the company's rally racing and off-road racing vehicles, as well as the development of high-performance models ...
(MMSP), responsible for the company representation in the
Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...
, is based in
Pont-de-Vaux
Pont-de-Vaux () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Ain department
*List of medieval bridges in France
The list of medieval bridges in France comprises all bridges built between 500 ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Historically, MME was responsible for sales within
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
."FY2007 Financial results" MME website However, economic development in Russia during the 1990s and early 2000s drove annual sales from less than 50 in 1991 to 57,200 in 2006."Russian plant for Mitsubishi seems likely; Japanese carmaker considers local production to meet booming demand" James B. Treece, ''Automotive News Europe'', October 2006 At the time it represented the company's biggest market in Europe, and MME began treating Russia as a separate market."MMC designates Russia 'stand-alone' business region" ''Just Auto'', April 27, 2007 In addition, MME was greatly successful in the
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
market, being the top selling brand for four consecutive years to 2007. At the time, the company oversaw 2,500 dealers in 36 countries.Facts & Figures MME website
MME's sales in Europe reached a peak of 340,000 vehicles between 2007 and 2008. However, sales began to decline afterwards, reaching 218,000 between 2011 and 2012. MME sold the Nedcar plant, which was no longer profitable, to
VDL Groep
VDL Groep is an international industrial and manufacturing company established in 1953. From its head office in Eindhoven, Netherlands, VDL supervises its subsidiaries, which have a high level of autonomy and responsibility for results.
The bus ...
for a token price of €1 in 2012, on the condition that none of the workers at the plant lose their jobs.
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
diesel emissions scandal
From 2014 onwards, software which manipulated air pollution tests was discovered in vehicles from some car makers; the software recognized when the standardized emissions test was being done, and adjusted the engine to emit less during the test. T ...
revealed that Mitsubishi had been falsifying its fuel economy data. The scandal caused shares in the company to fall almost immediately. As part of MME's plan to increase sales in Europe, the company announced that it would increase spending on research and development in areas like
electric vehicles
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
.
In 2020, Mitsubishi announced that it was exiting the European market, after failing to generate a profit in the region. As part of this decision, the company would not market any new models of vehicle in Europe, and would focus on selling off existing models.
In 2021, it was announced that MME would return to the European market, although it would cease car sales in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
by the end of that year. This decision came after reaching an agreement with Renault-Nissan, through which Renault would manufacture Mitsubishi cars in France. The company also resumed the production and sales of the
Mitsubishi Colt
The Mitsubishi Colt is a nameplate from Mitsubishi Motors that has been applied to a number of automobiles since 1962. It was first introduced with a series of kei and subcompact cars in the 1960s, and then for the export version of the subcompac ...
, after not marketing the car in Europe for ten years.
The company's sales in the European market continued to decline in 2022. Due to logistical difficulties and supply chain issues caused by the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Mitsubishi ceased the production of vehicles at its plant in
Kaluga
Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population:
Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsiol ...