Mitsubishi Motors reportedly plans to end car production in the US.
A Reuters report said the automaker, which had declined to comment, was facing declining US demand and an expiring union contract at its only plant in North America.
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Japan’s Nikkei news service had said the plan to end production at Mitsubishi’s plant in Normal, Illinois, was part of a strategic shift to the growing Asian market.
The company has “no statement,” a spokesperson for Mitsubishi Motors North America, told the news agency.
The Nikkei said Mitsubishi would look for a buyer for the plant, which opened in 1988 as a joint venture between Mitsubishi and its then-partner, Chrysler. The report also said Mitsubishi would begin negotiations with labor representatives to maintain employment for the plant’s 918 workers, who are represented by the United Auto Workers union.
A local mayor and union representatives said thay had heard nothing of closure and were expecting contract negotiations to begin soon.
The Normal plant is the only Japanese-owned US car factory whose hourly workers are represented by the UAW, Reuters noted.
At its peak in the early 2000s, Normal built over 200,000 cars a year. Last year, production of the Outlander Sport utility vehicle [aka ASX] totaled 69,178, according to Mitsubishi.
