MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2003
Mitsubishi eyes annual sales of 300,000 in China
REUTERS
SHANGHAI: Mitsubishi Motors is eyeing annual sales in China of 300,000 vehicles by 2007, most of which will be manufactured domestically with local partners, a senior executive said on Sunday.
That number would include vehicles of all types, including sedans, though executives would not say when Mitsubishi planned to introduce its first car made in China.
"Mitsubishi sees China as a very, very important market," Hideaki Anraku, general manager of the company's Shanghai operations, said on the sidelines of the Shanghai auto show.
The company intends to hike output to about 270,000 of its own-brand vehicles by 2007, versus about 70,000 now, he added.
Mitsubishi finally gained a foothold in China last year when it signed a 10-year deal for affiliated Beijing Jeep Corp to make a sports utility vehicle (SUV), the Pajero Sport.
Production kicked off in March, with sales targeted at 7,000 units for 2003, Anraku said. The production line carries an annual capacity of 10,000 vehicles, executives said.
Anraku added that Mitsubishi would begin making the Outlander SUV in the first quarter of 2004 at Beijing Jeep. Full-year output is set initially at 25,000, he said.
DaimlerChrysler AG owns 37 percent of Mitsubishi and runs Beijing Jeep with Beijing Automotive Industry (Group).
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