Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Friday it aims to electrify all of the cars it sells globally by fiscal 2035, expecting related investment to total more than 1.4 trillion yen ($10 billion) through fiscal 2030.
Mitsubishi Motors, which had previously set a 50 percent electrification target for its cars by fiscal 2030, is the latest Japanese automaker to accelerate a shift away from gas-powered vehicles amid intensifying competition worldwide.
"We will push ahead with electrification. We will introduce new technologies to achieve carbon neutrality," Mitsubishi Motors President Takao Kato told a press conference. Currently, electrified vehicles account for less than 10 percent of the company's car sales.
Investment by the year ending March 2031 will reach somewhere between 1.4 trillion yen to 1.8 trillion yen, he said.
The maker of the Outlander sport utility vehicle plans to launch 16 new cars, including nine electrified models globally in the next five years. The company will focus its resources in the Southeast Asian and Oceanian markets to increase profit, it said.
It also said it will spend a total of 210 billion yen on procuring batteries by fiscal 2030 to catch up with the increased production of battery-powered vehicles.
Mitsubishi Motors plans to broaden its lineup in the U.S. and European markets by selling cars produced by its alliance partners -- France's Renault SA and Japan's Nissan Motor Co. -- under its name.
Mitsubishi Motors said last month it will consider investing in a new EV venture to be set up by Renault. Nissan has already decided to buy a stake of up to 15 percent in the venture in return for Renault's agreement to reduce its stake in the maker of the Leaf electric car.
As for other Japanese automakers, Honda Motor Co. is aiming to make all new cars it sells electric and fuel cell-run vehicles by 2040. Nissan last month updated its electrification goal, aiming to make nearly all the cars it sells in Europe electrified by fiscal 2026.
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