Mitsubishi Motors to trim domestic production by 20%

Selasa, 23 April 2013 01:05

(TOKYO-Kyodo) Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Monday it will trim its annual domestic production capability by around 20 percent, consolidating four production lines at its main factory in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, into two around December.

While the annual output at the plant will fall to over 400,000 units from the current 598,000, its 3,050 employees will be retained, according to the company.

The automaker apparently aims at boosting the operating rate of the factory, given sluggish exports of domestically-produced vehicles and unfavorable domestic auto sales.

Meanwhile, the automaker said it will resume its nighttime operation at the plant, halted since May last year, from May 6 to accommodate sales of mini vehicles developed jointly with Nissan Motor Co.

The vehicles will go on sale as "eK Wagon" from Mitsubishi and "DAYZ" from Nissan in June, respectively.