The History of Mitsubishi Motors: Ships, Rally Cars and the Alliance

Mitsubishi Motors at a glance

Origins: the three diamonds and the Model A (1870–1945)

The Mitsubishi name goes back to a shipping business set up by Yataro Iwasaki in the early 1870s. The three-diamond emblem combines elements of the Iwasaki family crest and the crest of the Tosa clan, with which the founder was connected; "Mitsubishi" means "three water chestnuts", a Japanese term for a diamond shape.

In 1917 Mitsubishi Shipbuilding introduced the Model A, a seven-seat saloon based on the Fiat Tipo 3 and Japan's first series-production car. Production was expensive, and only 22 were built before it ended in 1921. Trucks and buses became more important: the first truck, the T1, appeared in 1918, and later commercial vehicles carried the Fuso name, today a brand of Daimler Truck. In 1934 the shipbuilding and aircraft businesses merged into Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). In 1937 MHI developed the PX33 prototype, the first Japanese passenger car with full-time four-wheel drive.

Post-war restart and the birth of MMC (1946–1970)

After the war the Mitsubishi group was dismantled, and in 1950 MHI was split into three regional companies. They built scooters, three-wheelers, trucks and buses for a country in reconstruction. Passenger cars returned at the beginning of the 1960s with the small Mitsubishi 500, which made its motorsport debut at the 1962 Macau Grand Prix, followed by the Colt and, in 1969, the first Galant.

On 22 April 1970 the automotive divisions were brought together as Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), a wholly owned subsidiary of MHI. A year later Chrysler bought a 15 % stake, and the Galant was sold in the US as the Dodge Colt, the start of a long partnership.

Growth, the Pajero and motorsport (1970–1999)

The new company grew quickly. In 1980 it reached one million cars a year and bought Chrysler's Australian manufacturing operation. The Pajero off-roader, launched in 1982, entered the Dakar Rally in 1983 and became the event's most successful car, with 12 overall wins. Its story is on our Mitsubishi Pajero page, and its tougher pickup-based relative is the Pajero Sport.

In 1988 MMC listed its shares, and its joint venture with Chrysler, Diamond-Star Motors, opened a plant in Normal, Illinois. The Lancer Evolution, a turbocharged four-wheel-drive saloon for rallying, arrived in 1992, and Tommi Mäkinen won four consecutive world rally drivers' titles from 1996 to 1999, with the manufacturers' title in 1998. In 1996 the company presented the GDI petrol direct-injection engine, one of the first of its kind in volume production.

Crises and recovery (2000–2015)

In 2000 and again in 2004 the company admitted that it had concealed vehicle defects, which led to large recalls and the resignation of president Katsuhiko Kawasoe. DaimlerChrysler, which had bought a large minority stake in 2000, withdrew its support, and in January 2005 MHI and other group companies led a rescue. Western European production ended in late 2012 with the closure of the line at the former NedCar plant in the Netherlands, and the Normal plant in the US closed in May 2016.

The company also moved early into electric cars. The i-MiEV minicar went on retail sale in Japan in 2009, one of the first modern electric cars made in series. In 2013 the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV followed, which became one of Europe's best-selling plug-in hybrids.

The alliance era (2016–today)

In 2016 Nissan found irregularities in Mitsubishi's fuel-economy tests for kei cars. The scandal hit the share price, and in October 2016 Nissan completed the purchase of a 34 % stake, making Mitsubishi a member of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance. The full background of the partner is in our history of Nissan.

The company refocused on South-East Asia, Oceania and SUVs. The Pajero plant at Sakahogi closed in 2021, and Mitsubishi left the UK new-car market in autumn 2021. In Europe the brand now relies largely on Renault-built models: since 2023 the Colt is based on the Renault Clio and the Mitsubishi ASX on the Renault Captur. In November 2024 Nissan reduced its stake to about a quarter, and merger talks between Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi ran from December 2024 to February 2025 before ending; the partnership formed in July 2024 continues.

Today the company earns much of its money in South-East Asia. The Laem Chabang plant in Thailand is its main export base for pickups and SUVs, and the Xpander seven-seat MPV, built in Indonesia, has become one of the region's best-selling family cars. The third-generation Outlander of 2021 shares its platform with the Nissan X-Trail, and its plug-in hybrid version keeps the twin-motor all-wheel drive that made the original PHEV popular. Mitsubishi still offers the L200 (called Triton in many markets) with a new generation launched in 2023, so the brand's reputation for rugged four-wheel drive continues alongside the electrified models.

Key models through the decades

The Pajero carried three names, depending on the market: Montero in the Americas and Spain, and Shogun in the UK. The Lancer Evolution ran through ten generations until 2016 and remains one of the best-known Japanese performance saloons.

How Mitsubishi compares with other Japanese brands

Mitsubishi is smaller than Toyota, Honda and Nissan, with production of about one million vehicles in FY2024. Compared with its 1980 output of one million cars, that is roughly the same volume, while Toyota and Honda have grown far larger. Its strengths are four-wheel drive, pickups and plug-in hybrids rather than saloons or sports cars. For rival SUVs, see our Sportage vs Outlander comparison and the Pajero vs Kyron comparison.

Which Mitsubishi to choose

For buyers who need a tough four-wheel-drive vehicle, the L200 pickup and the Pajero Sport remain the brand's core products in many markets. The Outlander PHEV suits drivers who can charge at home and want an SUV with all-wheel drive and low running costs. In Europe, the Renault-based Colt and ASX are a practical choice for those who prefer a Mitsubishi dealer. On the used market, the Lancer Evolution is a collector's car; choose an unmodified example with a documented history. All models are in the Mitsubishi catalogue.