Mitsubishi Could Shut Down Its Only North-American Factory
Bad news for Mitsubishi fans: it seems that the Normal, Illinois assembly plant that currently builds the RVR (known in the United States as the Outlander Sport) could soon close its doors.
According to various sources, this would coincide with the renegotiation of the contract for the plant’s 918 workers.
Mitsubishi hasn’t officially announced anything, but reports state that the manufacturer is looking for a potential buyer for the factory; it opened its doors in 1988, back when Mitsubishi was in an alliance with Chrysler.
At the turn of the millennium, the plant was building around 200,000 vehicles per year; in 2014, only 69,178 RVRs were assembled in Illinois.
However, this does not mean that Mitsubishi will stop selling vehicles in North America; sales are actually up by up to 25% compared to last year.
According to some people, shutting this factory is part of Mitsubishi’s plan to divert its resources toward the rapidly-expanding Asian markets.