The Xiaomi cars are really impressive. Is Mitsubishi Motors completely exiting the Chinese market?
In recent years, as Chinese brands have grown in the new energy era, the living space of weak joint - venture brands has been continuously compressed. GAC Fiat Chrysler, which once promoted the localization of Jeep in China, has announced bankruptcy. After stopping vehicle production in China, Mitsubishi Motors has once again terminated its engine joint - venture business.
On July 22, Mitsubishi Motors announced the termination of its joint - venture cooperation with Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi Motors Engine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and the operation of its engine business in this company. Mitsubishi Motors stated that in view of the rapid transformation of the Chinese automotive industry, it has re - evaluated its strategy for the region and decided to end its participation in the joint - venture.
Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi was established in August 1997 and started engine production in 1998. It supplies engines to Mitsubishi brand vehicle manufacturers and many Chinese vehicle manufacturers. The shutdown of this engine business also means that Mitsubishi Motors has completely withdrawn from the Chinese automotive production market.
This decision is not only an adjustment of a corporate strategy but also a microcosm of the structural transformation of the Chinese automotive market - the gradual decline of the traditional Japanese fuel - powered vehicle technology route stands in sharp contrast to the strong rise of the Chinese new energy vehicle industry. Why has Mitsubishi Motors fallen to this state in the Chinese market?
From "Supplier of the Heart of Domestic Cars" to a Disheartened Exit
The origin of Mitsubishi Motors' relationship with the Chinese market can be traced back to the 1970s. In 1973, Mitsubishi first entered the Chinese market with imported medium - sized trucks. In 1983, it cooperated with Beijing Automobile Industry Corporation to establish Beijing Jeep Corporation, opening the prelude to joint - venture production in China. However, what truly established Mitsubishi's special position in the Chinese automotive industry was the establishment of Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi Motors Engine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in August 1997 through a joint - venture with enterprises such as China Aerospace Automobile. This joint - venture, which started production in 1998, quickly became a key "heart supplier" for the development of Chinese self - owned brand vehicles.
The 4G series engines produced by Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi, with their reliability and adaptability, once became the "standard power" for domestic cars. Almost all mainstream self - owned brands such as Great Wall, BYD, Chery, Jianghuai, Brilliance, and Haval once relied on Mitsubishi engines. Data shows that at its peak, nearly 30% of self - owned brand models were equipped with Mitsubishi engines. As of the end of 2024, the number of domestic cars equipped with Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi engines had exceeded 7 million. Mitsubishi was thus jokingly referred to by the industry as an enterprise that "supported half of the domestic car circle single - handedly".
In the field of vehicle manufacturing, Mitsubishi Motors reached the peak of its business in China through the establishment of GAC Mitsubishi, a joint - venture company with GAC Group in 2012. In 2018, GAC Mitsubishi's annual sales reached 144,000 vehicles, among which the annual sales of the Outlander SUV exceeded 100,000 vehicles for the first time. However, this glorious moment was short - lived. With the explosive growth of the Chinese new energy vehicle market and the rapid rise of self - owned brands, GAC Mitsubishi's sales plummeted from 133,000 vehicles in 2019 to 33,600 vehicles in 2022. In 2023, it was forced to stop production due to a capacity utilization rate of only 3.33%. In October 2023, GAC Mitsubishi's Changsha plant was taken over by GAC Aion for a symbolic price of 1 yuan, and Mitsubishi withdrew from vehicle production. In July 2025, with the termination of the joint - venture engine business of Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Motors completely ended its nearly half - century of business history in China.
Has China's New Energy Vehicles Disrupted the Market Structure?
The fundamental reason for Mitsubishi Motors' withdrawal from the Chinese market lies in its failure to adapt to the rapid wave of electrification transformation in the Chinese automotive industry. In 2024, the sales volume of new energy vehicles in China reached 11.582 million, a year - on - year increase of 39.7%, exceeding the sales volume of traditional fuel - powered vehicles (11.558 million, a year - on - year decrease of 17.4%) for the first time, and accounting for more than 50% of the market. More remarkably, China's new energy vehicle sales account for nearly two - thirds of the global market share. This overwhelming market advantage has completely changed the competition rules of the automotive industry.
The rise of the Chinese new energy vehicle industry shows three prominent characteristics: First, the rapid iteration of the technology route. From 2015 when the sales volume of new energy vehicles accounted for more than 1% and China became the world's largest market, to 2023 when the penetration rate reached 31.6%, and then to the first 11 months of 2024 when it soared to 40.3%, this development speed far exceeded industry expectations. The battery cost has decreased by 80% in five years, the charging infrastructure has covered all cities at the county level and above in China, and intelligent driving has changed from a high - end configuration to an industry standard. These technological advancements have greatly enhanced the competitiveness of electric vehicles.
Second, the overall leadership of self - owned brands. Chinese brands such as Xiaomi Auto, NIO, and Li Auto have occupied more than 70% of the new energy market share. In the first half of 2025, BYD's new energy vehicle exports reached 470,000, with a growth rate of up to 130%. Its plug - in hybrid models have a market share of more than 30% in the Southeast Asian market, and the order volume of its pure - electric models in Europe has increased by 235% year - on - year. These enterprises, which once relied on Mitsubishi engines, now not only master the core three - electric technologies but also have established a global competitive advantage in the field of intelligent networking.
Third, the systematic reconstruction of the industrial ecosystem. The Chinese new energy vehicle industry has upgraded from simple "product output" to a full - chain output model of "technology + ecosystem". Taking BYD as an example, its factory invested 7.1 billion yuan in Bahia, Brazil, not only produces electric vehicles but also drives the local battery module production capacity to increase to 18,000 sets per year, creating 20,000 jobs and achieving a localization rate of 65%. This in - depth localization strategy enables Chinese automakers to avoid trade barriers (such as the EU's 30.7% comprehensive tariff) and at the same time export technical standards - BYD's solid - state battery has a theoretical range of up to 1,875 kilometers and is participating in the formulation of global technical rules.
Under this industrial transformation, Mitsubishi Motors' fuel - engine business, on which it depends for survival, has been quickly marginalized. In 2024, Shenyang Aerospace Mitsubishi's revenue was 1.339 billion yuan, with a net loss of 62.5272 million yuan. In the first quarter of 2025, its revenue was only 301 million yuan, with a net loss of 23.6751 million yuan. The "godfather of engines", which once occupied 30% of the domestic car market share, had to leave disheartened in the wave of electrification.
Mitsubishi Motors' story in China has ended, but the new story of the Chinese automotive industry has just begun. In this sense, Mitsubishi's exit is not an end but the beginning of a new era - an era led by the independent innovation of the Chinese automotive industry and leading the world. In this new era, success will belong to those enterprises that can continuously innovate, adapt quickly, and achieve in - depth localization, regardless of their country of origin. The future competition in the automotive industry has already accelerated.
This article is from the WeChat public account "BT Finance", author: Yuan Fang. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.