Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is exploring the possibility of manufacturing vehicles at Nissan Motor Co. or Honda Motor Co. plants in the United States, as tariffs on imports from Japan squeeze its North American business, Nikkei reported.
Chief Executive Officer Takao Kato indicated that joint production represents one avenue for deeper cooperation with the larger Japanese automakers, with plans to finalize details by spring when Mitsubishi unveils its next medium-term business plan.
The company faces an acute vulnerability: it has no U.S. manufacturing base, meaning every Outlander and Eclipse Cross sold in America arrives as an import subject to duties. That exposure has proved costly. Mitsubishi’s North American unit swung to a loss in the April-September period, while fiscal 2024 U.S. sales of 113,000 vehicles amounted to roughly one-tenth of either partner’s volume.
Kato acknowledged the automaker cannot sustain its American operations independently. The economics of building dedicated U.S. factories are prohibitive given Mitsubishi’s modest scale and elevated labor costs.
Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi, and Smyrna, Tennessee, plants currently run below capacity amid the company’s own sales slump, potentially offering space for Mitsubishi models. Honda’s five American factories, by contrast, operate near full utilization.
The discussions follow the February collapse of Nissan and Honda’s proposed merger. All three companies have since returned to exploring partnership structures, with Nissan remaining Mitsubishi’s largest shareholder.
