Mitsubishi announced that its US subsidiary will end production of the Outlander Sport at the Normal plant in Illinois at the end of November 2015.
The company added that production of the SUV will be consolidated in Okazaki plant in Japan, pending a final decision by the board of directors on July 30. Mitsubishi said it “will be making efforts to identify a buyer” for the plant with help from United Auto Workers (UAW).
Mitsubishi first started producing cars in 1988 as Diamond Star Motors (later renamed as Mitsubishi Motors North America), which was a joint venture company with Chrysler Corporation.
Diamond Star Motors became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi in 1991, after the Japanese automaker bought all shares owned by Chrysler.
The Normal plant hit its production peak in 2000, when more than 222,000 vehicles were built. However, after that output dropped steeply due to the end of OEM supply for Chrysler Corporation and the economic crisis. In 2009, production volume was just 18,500 units.
In 2012, the plant started making the Outlander Sport (known as the ASX or RVR in other markets). The vehicle was built in the US not only for the North American market but also for Russia, Middle East and Latin America markets.
As the North American market recovered from the economic crisis, production volume increased to 70,000 units in 2013. However, that was still a low volume compared to other automobile assembly plants in North America. Ironically, the fatal blow for the plant came from Russia, as orders dropped significantly since the second half of 2014 due to Russia’s economic crisis triggered by US-led sanctions. Production order from Russia accounted for more than 30 percent of the plant’s total output.
As a result, Mitsubishi decided to end production at Normal plant and consolidate the production at Okazaki plant in Japan. The Outlander Sport will be exported from Okazaki to North America as from next model year.
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