News on March 3rd, according to business registration information, GAC Mitsubishi Motors Co., Ltd. has officially been renamed to Hunan Zhixiang Automobile Management Co., Ltd., with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation withdrawing from the list of shareholders.
After the change, the company's business scope has been expanded to include sales of new energy vehicles and mechanical components, controlled by Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 1.947 billion RMB.
According to previous reports, on October 24th last year, GAC Group announced the "Announcement on the Restructuring of GAC Mitsubishi as a Related Transaction", declaring that GAC Mitsubishi will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAC Group. The factory's production capacity will be taken over by Enovate, signaling Mitsubishi Motors' withdrawal from the Chinese market.
However, the GAC Mitsubishi Automobile Sales Company will be jointly owned by GAC Group, Mitsubishi Motors, and Mitsubishi Corporation, continuing to provide spare parts and after-sales service to GAC Mitsubishi car owners. This restructuring has prevented the dissolution and liquidation of GAC Mitsubishi.
Indeed, it's quite regrettable to see Mitsubishi Motors' decline to this point. Over a decade ago, Mitsubishi was a mainstream brand in the domestic market.
Moreover, emerging Chinese automakers, including Great Wall, Changan, Brilliance, BAIC, and Chery, generally opted for Mitsubishi's 4G6 series engines and related technologies. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Mitsubishi Motors the "godfather" of domestic cars in China.
However, with Mitsubishi falling behind in the Chinese automotive business and lagging in the transition to electrification, Mitsubishi Motors has now been pushed to the margins of the Chinese market. Given the continuous slump in sales, Mitsubishi Motors' exit from the Chinese market was inevitable.
