Japanese car makers under pressure in China as it rapidly transitions to electric vehicles
In a surprise move Mitsubishi Motors has decided to suspend operations in
China as the world’s largest car market rapidly transitions to electric vehicles.
The Japanese car makers failure in China where it has only one electric SUV on
sale reflects the pressure facing other Japanese manufacturers. As reported by
the Japan Times newspaper, both Honda and Nissan sales in China have been
falling in recent years while Toyota sales have also slowed for the first time in ten
years. China’s fast transition to cleaner electric cars has caught the Japanese
makers off guard and they’ve lost market share to new competitors like BYD and
Tesla. Mitsubishi in an effort to catch up has announced it will invest $13 billion
dollars in electrification by 2030 and plans to electrify 100 percent of its cars it
sells worldwide by 2035. I’m David Berthon
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