What is Mitsubishi?

Who makes Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is a Japanese automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, and a member of the broader Mitsubishi Group, a keiretsu conglomerate founded by Yataro Iwasaki in 1870. The automotive division was spun off from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1970, although Mitsubishi-branded vehicles trace back to the 1917 Model A — Japan's first series-production passenger car. Mitsubishi joined the Renault-Nissan Alliance in 2016 after a fuel-economy fraud scandal forced equity restructuring; Nissan holds a 34% stake. The Outlander and Outlander PHEV anchor Mitsubishi's North American lineup, while the Eclipse Cross, Mirage, ASX and Triton (a global pickup) round out the global portfolio. The Outlander PHEV has been the best-selling plug-in hybrid SUV in Europe most years since 2014. Mitsubishi Motors trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under 7211 and as MMTOF in OTC US trading. Recall data for every Mitsubishi VIN is reported to NHTSA. EPA fuel-economy ratings, IIHS scores and J.D. Power studies provide independent benchmarks. ForCar.org decodes any Mitsubishi VIN to surface trim, factory options, open recalls and original MSRP.

Yataro Iwasaki founded Mitsubishi as a shipping company in 1870; the three-diamond logo represents both the family crest and the Iwasaki ancestral diamonds. The 1917 Model A, an exact copy of the Fiat Tipo 3, was Japan's first mass-produced passenger car. The 1936 PX33 was Japan's first four-wheel-drive prototype. Mitsubishi Motors became an independent company in 1970, and the Lancer Evolution rally car (1992-2016) defined the brand's performance image.

Technology it is known for: Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC), PHEV twin-motor system, MIVEC variable valve timing, Mitsubishi Connect telematics, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) drivetrain.

This page covers Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, the automaker — not Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank or any other Mitsubishi Group company.

Where Mitsubishi cars are actually built

A badge says where a company is registered, not where its cars were bolted together. The first three characters of any VIN — the world manufacturer identifier — say the second thing, and that is what we counted: 8,026 vehicles on record, 9 distinct manufacturer codes.

Read your own: the first character is the region, the first three together identify the plant's manufacturer. A Mitsubishi beginning 4A3 was assembled in the United States.

All Mitsubishi models 26

Every Mitsubishi model we track, grouped by body type. Click any model for its VIN decoder, recalls, MPG, safety and ForCar Reliability Score — broken down by year.

Mitsubishi SUVs & crossovers 8

Mitsubishi Cars & sedans 14

Mitsubishi Trucks 1

Mitsubishi Wagons 1

Mitsubishi More models 2

Mitsubishi by the numbers

What the federal records say about the marque. Each line links to the full breakdown by model and year.

Mitsubishi hybrids & electric models

Mitsubishi's electrified lineup — 1 hybrid and 1 electric / plug-in. Click any model for its full powertrain, MPG and range by year.

Mitsubishi hybrids 1

Mitsubishi electric & plug-in 1

Electrified variants from EPA fueleconomy.gov powertrain data. A model may offer gas, hybrid and electric versions across years.

How to read a Mitsubishi VIN

Every Mitsubishi built since 1981 carries a unique 17-character VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). It encodes where and when the vehicle was made, its engine and body — here's what each part means:

The remaining digits — engine (8th), model-year letter (10th) and plant — follow the universal SAE standard. Run it through our free VIN lookup to turn those digits into a model year, an assembly plant and a country of origin.

Who owns Mitsubishi, and what you get

Mitsubishi belongs to Mitsubishi Group. Mitsubishi competes in mainstream passenger and light-truck segments against Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai-Kia and Subaru, with a smaller global footprint and reduced US dealer network (~340 dealers in 2024). The brand's strategic positioning post-2016 emphasizes plug-in hybrid SUVs, particularly in markets where charging infrastructure is mature. Within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Mitsubishi shares platforms with Nissan but maintains separate dealer networks.

⚠ Worth knowing before you rely on it: across our complaint records the typical car reaches the halfway point of its faults at five years, while basic cover here runs 5 years / 60,000 miles. See when Mitsubishi models actually start to break →