Well this was unexpected. Nissan Motor Co. announced that it is buying a 34% controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors today for 237 billion yen, or about $2.2 billion. With this deal, Nissan now expands its strategic alliance to include Mitsubishi along with partners Renault and Daimler. That’s right, two of the blandest Japanese automakers have joined forces to take over the world, or at least they hope to. This comes after Mitsubishi’s stocks have been plummeting due to its improper tire inflation and overstated fuel economy ratings scandal.
Mitsubishi has been in hot water ever since it was discovered, by Nissan, that they lied about tire pressures and fuel economy in its Kei cars. Nissan discovered this because they rebadge many Mitsubishi Kei cars under its own brand, and they noticed the inconsistencies. Supposedly, this has being going on for over 25 years, affecting more than 600,000 Kei cars. It’s possible that this problem also affects the company’s entire Japanese lineup.
Based on this news, it seems Nissan saw this scandal as an opportunity.
Give Mitsubishi a relatively handsome offer while it’s down on its luck, both organizations benefit from it. Mitsubishi and Nissan will now share platforms, manufacturing plants and tech development, according to Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s CEO. Under Nissan’s guidance, Mitsubishi can bounce back from the scandal and quite possibly even become a legitimate player in the US market again, and Nissan could use help in the Southeast Asian market where Mitsubishi thrives. At least now the Mitsubishi Proudia (a rebadged Infiniti Q70) will make more sense.
Mitsubishi Pictures Gallery
Written by: Justin Davis
