Mitsubishi Surrenders and Leaves the Largest Automotive Market

Things Have Been Bad in China for a Long Time

Japanese company Mitsubishi Motors has announced its complete withdrawal from the Chinese market, ending its cooperation with Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi, a joint venture for the production of engines. The decision became the final step after the cessation of local car production in 2023. The Chinese market, which is rapidly switching to electric vehicles, forced the company to revise its strategy, focusing on other regions.

The joint venture, established in 1997, supplied engines to both Mitsubishi cars and local manufacturers' products. Since 1998, it has supplied key components for assembly lines, but on July 2, 2025, it was renamed Shenyang Guoqing Power Technology, and Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Corporation withdrew from the shareholders. The main reason given was the change in the structure of the Chinese automotive industry, where demand for internal combustion engines has sharply decreased.

Mitsubishi's history in China began in 1973 with the export of trucks, and by the 2000s, its engines were used in 30% of local cars. The GAC Mitsubishi joint venture, established in 2012, reached peak sales in 2018 (144,000 vehicles), but by 2022, volumes had fallen to 33,600 units. Financial difficulties, including a negative net asset value (-$196 million), prompted the company to restructure and transfer the plant to GAC for the production of Aion electric vehicles.

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