TOKYO, May 8, 2015 - (ACN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announced today the opening of a new product proving ground in Thailand(1). The new proving ground will be used to conduct quality verification testing for products before they go into production and to further increase the quality and competitiveness of cars built in Thailand. In line with expanding local production capacity, MMC fully owned subsidiary Mitsubishi Motors Thailand Co., Ltd. (MMTh) is currently strengthening R&D functions directly related to its production facilities, one of which is the new proving ground. This is MMC's first proving ground outside of Japan.
MMTh held a ceremony today to commission the new proving ground which was attended by the Thai Minister of Industry Chakramon Phasukavanich and other government officials as well as many of MMTh's business partners.
Mr. Ryugo Nakao, Executive Vice President of MMC, in charge of Product Projects/Strategy and Development, touched on the importance of the Thailand market: "Thanks to the Thai government's long-standing and consistent policies to develop the Thai automobile industry, Mitsubishi Motors has been able to grow and develop its business through MMTh production hub. Through our reinforced R&D capabilities we will nurture our engineers and contribute to the Thai government's aim of investment expansion in the research and development area. Mitsubishi Motors will continue to regard its operations in Thailand as one of its pillars and will grow and develop our business hand-in-hand with the Thai automobile industry."
(1) Proving ground Overview
Location:Nhong Kho District, Sriracha, Chonburi, Thailand(About 26 km NE of MMTh's Laem Chabang Factory)
Area:Approx. 152,000 m2.
Main facilities:Multi-purpose testing track, Noise Vibration and Harshness proving ground, analytical testing area, general oval circuit (1,500m long), servicing yard.
About Mitsubishi Motors
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is the fifth largest automaker in Japan and the fifteenth largest in the world by global unit sales. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Throughout its history it has courted alliances with foreign partners, a strategy pioneered by their first president Tomio Kubo to encourage expansion, and continued by his successors. A significant stake was sold to Chrysler Corporation in 1971 which it held for 22 years, while DaimlerChrysler was a controlling shareholder between 2000 and 2005. Long term joint manufacturing and technology licencing deals with the Hyundai Motor Company in South Korea and Proton in Malaysia were also forged, while in Europe the company co-owned the largest automobile manufacturing plant in the Netherlands with Volvo for ten years in the 1990s, before taking sole ownership in 2001.
Source: Mitsubishi Motors
Contact:
Mitsubishi Motors Public Relations Department http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com +81-3-6852-4275
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