Mitsubishi Motors – together with Mitsubishi Corporation – has announced the establishment of a new joint manufacturing company in Indonesia. Mitsubishi Motors Krama Yudha Indonesia (MMKI), a partnership between the two Mitsubishi companies and long-time local partner PT Krama Yudha, will build passenger vehicles, primarily for the domestic market.
The new company will build a new vehicle assembly plant at GIIC Industrial Estate in Bekasi, West Java, about 37 km east of Jakarta. Construction begins this year, and the new plant – with a production capacity of 160,000 units per year – is slated to start operations in April 2017.
It was reported last year that the plant will build two commercial vehicles as well as a new eight-seater MPV – the latest announcement states in addition to already locally-produced vehicles such as the Colt L300 truck/van, a brand-new small MPV model and an all-new Pajero Sport will also be assembled there.
Again, no mention was made as to the model that will be developed, but the mention of it being a small MPV likely indicates it will be a lower-segment offering competing against the likes of the Toyota Avanza and Honda Mobilio in that market.
The company says a portion of production is set to be exported to other ASEAN countries, and the plant is expected to play a very important role as the second largest production site for MMC vehicles in the ASEAN region, following the Laem Chabang Plant in Thailand. The automaker recently restructured its Philippines assembly operations, relocating to a new manufacturing plant in Santa Rosa.
Source: paultan.org
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