Mitsubishi considering assembly plant in Ontario

Mitsubishi North America Inc. officials have met with federal and Ontario government officials about locating a new assembly plant in the province. According to published press reports, the meetings were held to discuss the possibility of government aid if Mitsubishi were to build a plant in Canada. Mitsubishi is the third automotive OEM which has indicated an interest in building a new vehicle assembly operations in Canada in recent weeks. Mitsubishi sells about 360,000 vehicles a year in North America, and expects the figure to nearly double by 2007.
Earlier this month, both DaimlerChrysler and Ford Motor Co. said they were considering putting new plants in Canada. All companies have said plans to locate in Canada were contingent on securing government subsidies in the form of tax breaks and other arrangements.
In a related development, Environment Minister David Anderson has indicated any government aid will hinge on guarantees by the automakers to improve fuel efficiency by as much as 25% by 2010.