Mitsubishi Motors is considering manufacturing cars in the United States by partnering with Nissan and Honda Motor, as mounting U.S. auto tariffs increase the pressure on foreign automakers.
Mitsubishi Motors President and CEO Takao Kato told Nikkei Asia that collaborating with Nissan and Honda is being considered.
He noted that the company is soon to solidify its strategy, adding that Mitsubishi intends to achieve tangible progress before unveiling its next medium-term plan.
Kato did not specify which models or U.S. plants might be involved if the joint production moves forward.
Back in May, Mitsubishi and Nissan announced that they were exploring the possibility of jointly manufacturing sport utility vehicles at Nissan’s American facilities.
Mitsubishi does not operate any production facilities in the United States; instead, it imports all of its vehicles from Japan. This reliance makes models like the Outlander and Eclipse Cross vulnerable to risks tied to tariff impacts.
Escalating expenses have further pressured Mitsubishi, with its North American business posting losses between April and September. The company sold 113,000 vehicles in the U.S. in fiscal 2024—only about one-tenth of the sales achieved by Nissan or Honda.
Because of its comparatively modest scale, Mitsubishi confronts a major financial challenge in funding a U.S. plant alone, especially with labor and material costs running high.
Nissan currently operates two assembly plants in the U.S.—one in Canton, Mississippi, and another in Smyrna, Tennessee—but weakening demand has reduced utilization, squeezing profitability.
Honda, in contrast, runs five U.S. plants that are reportedly near full capacity, leaving little room to expand output independently.
Meanwhile, Nissan provides Mitsubishi with minivans in the Philippines, while Mitsubishi builds pickup trucks for Nissan in Oceania.
Together, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Honda accounted for over 15% of the U.S. market last year, slightly surpassing Toyota.
The automakers view joint production as a way to achieve significant cost efficiencies.
Mitsubishi entered three-way talks with Nissan and Honda in August 2024, after earlier merger discussions between Nissan and Honda collapsed in February.
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