Shanghai, May 10 (Gasgoo.com) Mitsubishi Motors will not pull out of GAC Changfeng Motor (former Hunan Changfeng Motor), but will instead strenghen its cooperation with the Chinese SUV maker, China Business News reported, citing the Japanese company's CEO.
Mitsubishi Motors aims to form a 50:50 joint venture in China before the end of this year, said CEO Osamu Masuko at the recent 2010 Beijing auto show, adding that the lack of such a joint venture in China was the main reason for Mitsubishi Motors lagging behind its rivals Honda and Toyota.
Guangzhou Auto (GAC) last year bought a 29% stake in Changfeng Motor. Mitsubishi Motors still holds 14.59% stake in the GAC-controlled company under the tech transfer contract. GAC once sought capital injection from the Japanese counterpart, but Mitsubishi remained non-committal and some people guessed that the Japanese carmaker would withdraw from Changfeng.
Mitsubishi Motors holds a 28.5% stake in Southeast (Fujian) Motor Co., Ltd. and a 14.59% stake in GAC Changfeng Motor Co. Masuko said the limited stakes hampers Mitsubishi's ability to influence the operation of the two companies.
Though Mitsubishi Motors' trademark license expired in March and technical cooperation agreement will end in 2013, the sixth-biggest Japanese automaker seems unlikely to divest of its stake in GAC Changfeng Motor.
