By LIU Jiaxin
Since the GAC Mitsubishi factory in Changsha, Hunan Province, was reported to have ceased operations, rumors about Mitsubishi's withdrawal from the Chinese market have been rampant.
On Tuesday, Mitsubishi announced that its joint venture with GAC was at an end and Mitsubishi vehicles will no longer be made in China.
The joint venture now becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAC Group, and its factories will be repurposed to produce the GAC Aion. With the expansion of the EV industry, many gas-powered joint ventures that failed to adapt have met a similar fate.
Established in 2012, sales peaked in 2018, and in 2022, GAC Mitsubishi only sold 33,600 vehicles. Mitsubishi's over reliance on fuel vehicles contributed to its failure. O
At the end of Q1, total assets were 4.2 billion yuan (US$570 million), while the total debt amounted to 5.6 billion yuan.
With the restructuring underway, many Mitsubishi car owners are concerned about after-sales service. A Shanghai-based maintenance center assured customers that repairs will be carried out as usual.
