- Mitsubishi sues Washington dealer for allegedly breaching service and signage contracts.
- The automaker claims the dealer is improperly sharing a service area with Karmart VW.
- The brand says it wants to “protect the integrity” of its name and avoid public confusion.
The owners of Karmart Mitsubishi in Burlington, Washington, have found themselves in hot water, facing a lawsuit from Mitsubishi Motors North America. The Japanese automaker’s U.S. division is accusing the dealership of breaching its contract and infringing on trademark standards.
According to a federal lawsuit seen by Auto News, Karmart Mitsubishi has failed to comply with the brand’s mandatory Visual Identity Program—a corporate initiative requiring dealerships to adopt uniform branding. This program mandates specific exterior and interior design elements, as well as standardized signage, so every Mitsubishi location across the country looks unmistakably… Mitsubishi.
Read: Mitsubishi Accused Of “Sabotaging” Dealership In $6 Million Lawsuit
However, Mitsubishi Motors North America says the dealer’s signage isn’t up to its standards It warned the company of its non-compliance in November, insisting that it must enroll in the program by December 20. After the dealer failed to do so, the brand has come after it. But it’s not just the signage, or the absence of it, that’s fueling this dispute.
The lawsuit also alleges a contractual violation concerning the dealership’s service area. According to the automaker, Karmart Mitsubishi is improperly sharing its service space with Karmart VW, a neighboring Volkswagen franchise. Initially, the shared service agreement was limited to a now-shuttered Suzuki dealership, but Volkswagen wasn’t part of the deal. This setup, Mitsubishi claims, breaches their agreement and creates unnecessary confusion.
While sharing a service area with a VW franchise may not seem like a big deal, the suit adds that Karmart Mitsubishi has been redirecting vehicles from its service area to the VW one. That’s obviously upset the brand, which has promptly got its lawyers involved. In fact, the lawsuit was filed on December 20, the same day given as the deadline for the dealer to comply with the Visual Identify Program.
According to Mitsubishi, it “has been forced to seek judicial intervention to protect the integrity of its brand and, more importantly, to protect the public from confusion.”
The dealership in question has not responded to the lawsuit.
