Production launch of Outlander SUV at Okazaki plant

Press Release

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation today announced that it starts production of "Outlander" SUV at Okazaki plant, located in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture. Okazaki plant will produce 29,000 "Outlander" models in the second half of fiscal year 2006 mainly for North America, Russia and Japanese markets. Mizushima Plant has been producing its model so far, but due to robust growth in sales of domestic mini-cars and export models, the plant's production capacity has reached maximum level. Transferring a part of "Outlander" production will ease current production condition of overloaded Mizushima plant. Mitsubishi Motors celebrated production launch of "Outlander" at Okazaki plant today. President Masuko made remarks during the ceremony, "It's a great pleasure to celebrate a new start of Okazaki plant which once we had decided its closure. However we also need to reaffirm that we are still on a passing point on the execution of the revitalization plan. I'd like to ask all the employees here today to challenge forward to create Okazaki plant's new history." Okazaki plant had been operated with one-shift from April 2004; its operation shift is changed to two-shift for the first time in the past 32 months.