Mitsubishi Shuts Down in China After EV Struggles originally appeared on Autoblog.
A Global Name with Shrinking Reach
Mitsubishi Motors is still active in several countries, including Southeast Asia, Australia, and North America. In the US, the Outlander and its plug-in hybrid counterpart continue to sell, even getting substantial updates for the 2026 model year.
In some regions, however, Mitsubishi's presence has been gradually shrinking – to the point that it had to leave the market entirely.
We're talking about China, which is currently the world's largest auto market. Mitsubishi has officially confirmed it has exited its engine manufacturing business in the People's Republic by terminating its joint venture with Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi Motors Engine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (SAME). This ends a long-standing partnership that had once made it a key player in the country's powertrain supply chain.
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Lacking EVs in an EV-Dominated Market
Mitsubishi cited the "rapid transformation" of China's auto industry as the reason for closing SAME, which had supplied engines to both Mitsubishi and various Chinese automakers since 1998.
At its peak, Mitsubishi's two engine joint ventures provided powertrains for around 30% of domestically produced vehicles. But the company's focus on internal combustion engines became a liability as China pivoted hard toward electrification.
Unlike rivals that have rolled out dedicated electric models or partnered with tech-driven Chinese firms, Mitsubishi has not launched a fully electric passenger vehicle in China. The brand's main plug-in hybrid, the Outlander PHEV, failed to gain traction in a market now dominated by domestic brands like BYD.
As local players expand aggressively and Tesla continues to operate at scale through its Shanghai Gigafactory, legacy foreign brands with limited EV roadmaps have been left behind.
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A Gradual Collapse in China
Mitsubishi's China journey began in 1973 with truck exports and grew steadily through the 1990s and early 2000s. The formation of GAC Mitsubishi in 2012 looked like a meaningful step forward. Sales peaked in 2018, led by the Outlander, which alone accounted for over 100,000 units. But the rise of Chinese EV makers soon undercut demand, and Mitsubishi's annual deliveries dropped to just 33,600 units by 2022.
Financial losses mounted. By early 2023, the GAC Mitsubishi joint venture had fallen into negative equity, with debts outweighing assets by nearly $200 million. Mitsubishi eventually ceased local production in October 2023. GAC assumed full ownership and repurposed the plant for its EV brand, Aion.
For Mitsubishi, the exit closes a chapter that once held promise but ended with the brand outpaced and outmaneuvered in a market it could no longer afford to follow.
Mitsubishi Shuts Down in China After EV Struggles first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 29, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
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