Mitsubishi reports a 6.3% rise in global vehicle production in December 2025

Mitsubishi is now planning for a much bigger jump in electric vehicle sales across Europe, right after posting a surprise rise in production for FY Q1 2026.

On Wednesday, the Japanese automaker confirmed a 6.3% increase in global output to 76,688 vehicles, up from 72,118 in Q1 2025.

Mitsubishi’s production inside Japan has surged 16% to 45,336 units, while factories outside Japan reported a drop of over 5%, ending at 31,352 units.

At the same time, Mitsubishi’s domestic sales (including imported models) fell 7% to 9,285 units in December. But exports jumped, climbing 25% to 27,589 vehicles, thanks to a massive 83% spike in shipments to North America, where it sent out 14,208 units.

Mitsubishi expands EV push with new Eclipse Cross SUV for Europe

The company confirmed that Mitsubishi Motors Europe B.V. will start rolling out the new Eclipse Cross battery electric vehicle (BEV) before the end of 2025.

This model will be built at the Renault Group’s ElectriCity Douai plant in France under the OEM agreement between the two automakers. This follows earlier collaborations on the ASX compact SUV, the Colt hatchback, and the Grandis hybrid.

The new Eclipse Cross is fully electric, built on the CMF-EV platform, and designed with about 600 kilometers of range. It will ship with Google built-in features and what Mitsubishi describes as the latest safety tech.

The SUV features the company’s usual Dynamic Shield front-end design. Takao Kato, Mitsubishi’s CEO, said, “Following the launch of the Outlander plug-in hybrid EV and the Grandis hybrid EV, rolling out the all-new Eclipse Cross marks a crucial step in our electrification strategy in Europe.”

Kato also added that the company sees this as part of its mission toward carbon neutrality and is focused on expanding its electrified lineup to meet demand across Europe. He said Mitsubishi will keep offering different kinds of EVs to meet changing customer needs in each market.

Global annual production down, exports to North America up sharply

Even though December looked strong, the company’s full-year numbers told a different story. In 2025, Mitsubishi produced 883,828 vehicles globally, down 6.4% from 944,708 units the year before.

Domestic output slipped 2.1% to 471,467 units, and overseas production dropped even more, down 11% to 412,361 units. Japan sales for the year fell 1.3% to 117,896 units, and total exports dipped 2.9% to 227,760 units.

The company is betting that the upcoming EV launches in Europe will help turn things around. But it’s not just Mitsubishi making headlines.

Banking giant MUFG said it already hit 86% of its full-year profit forecast of 2.1 trillion yen, with no plans to revise the target. Smaller rivals Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group reported 12% and 14% profit growth, respectively. But Takayuki Hara, MUFG’s CFO, warned that possible policy changes after Japan’s next general election could impact their outlook.

Back to Mitsubishi, the FY2025 Q2 earnings showed a drop in underlying operating cash flow, down from ¥527.3 billion to ¥446.3 billion. Net income also shrank to ¥355.8 billion versus ¥618.1 billion in Q1 2025, due to weaker Australian coal market conditions and no major capital recycling gains like last time.

Still, both numbers were on track with the yearly plan. The ¥1 trillion share buyback also kept moving, with ¥578.2 billion already repurchased as of September 30.

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