OREANDA-NEWS. April 19, 2012. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announced that it has started full production of its all-new Mirage "global compact car" at Mitsubishi Motors Thailand's (MMTh)* Laem Chabang Plant and today held a commemorative line-off ceremony at the Plant with MMC President Mr. Osamu Masuko and honored guests in attendance.
 
* MMC's exclusive producer and distributor in Thailand
 
The Mirage is a "global compact car" designed to satisfy both demand for an entry-level car in fast-growing emerging markets and demand for eco-conscious models offering superior environmental performance in advanced markets. The Mirage will be produced at a brand-new third factory at MMTh's Laem Chabang Plant; the largest MMC plant and export hub outside of Japan. The Mirage went on sale on March 28 in Thailand, and will be followed by other ASEAN countries, Japan, Europe, then expand to other markets successively. The Mirage will be brought into the Japanese market this summer.
 
At the ceremony, President Masuko stated, "There is no doubt that MMTh has now become one of MMC's major production hubs. As the Laem Chabang Plant has started production of the Mirage, it is important to maintain the same level of high quality offered by vehicles produced at plants in Japan. To ensure this, MMC has stationed Japanese inspection experts at the Plant to inspect 100% of the vehicles before they are shipped as well as train local inspectors; building a top-level quality control system. I believe that the new Mirage is a highly competitive model which will be widely accepted in markets all over the world. We have high hopes that this global strategic model, the new Mirage, will play a big role in further growth of our company."
 
The Mirage is a hot seller in Thailand already; to date more than 15,000 orders have been received for it.
 
MMC announced its JUMP 2013 three-year business plan in January of 2011, and one of the pillars of the plan calls for putting operating resources into emerging markets. Among "emerging markets," MMC puts particular emphasis on strengthening its operating base in the ASEAN region. The production and worldwide export of the Mirage from Thailand is an important tactic that embodies this strategy. Moving forward, MMC will continue to aggressively bolster its operations in high-potential emerging markets.