Mitsubishi Weighs a Return to U.S. Manufacturing With Help From Nissan and Honda

Mitsubishi is once again seriously exploring the idea of restarting production in the United States after a years-long absence. The company’s last U.S. assembly line shut down in 2015, when its plant in Normal, Illinois — once a joint venture with Chrysler that produced the Eclipse and Galant — closed for good. Since then, the brand’s entire American lineup has relied on imports, leaving it vulnerable to tariffs and market volatility. Executives openly acknowledge that carrying North America alone has become increasingly difficult.

That’s why Mitsubishi is now looking at cooperation on two fronts — with longtime alliance partner Nissan and even with Honda. Potential scenarios range from joint production of high-volume crossovers to participating in the new-model development program already under discussion between Nissan and Honda. The logic is straightforward: without a U.S. plant of its own, localization is only possible through partners.

Nissan has U.S. factories with capacity that may exceed current demand; Honda’s plants typically run at higher utilization — a factor that reshapes the “math” of a possible partnership. Specific models and locations haven’t been disclosed. Mitsubishi aims to reach clearer decisions by the time it presents its next mid-term plan this spring.

For the brand, the strategy is pragmatic: shared production reduces exposure to tariffs and currency swings while allowing Mitsubishi to gain local-production status without the cost of launching its own facility. The most likely candidates for such cooperation are popular crossovers — a segment where volume and project economics align more easily.