Bloomington Car Dealer Supportive Of Corporate Electric Initiatives

If you make an electric car, it only seems sensible that you add enough battery suppliers to cover projected sales. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is planning to do just that. The maker of the i-MiEV is looking at making some deals with additional battery suppliers for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.

Your Bloomington car dealer sees the common sense behind this plan and hopes, like Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko, that sales will rise accordingly. Right now GS Yuasa Corp of Kyoto, Japan supplies lithium-ion batteries to Mitsubishi and they will remain it primary supplier.

Masuko stated in a press conference that they are researching and talking with several battery makers. One of those being considered is Toshiba Corp. Mitsubishi plans to expand its percentage of plug-in hybrid cars to over 20 percent of its total sales in 2020.

This increase wont come cheap, though. Mitsubishi, Japans third-largest automaker, will pour about $462 million into a new factory in Thailand in hopes that exports from that country will increase from 60 percent to more than 70 percent next year. Those are impressive numbers to shoot for and the electric/hybrid demand will likely continue to increase.

Most of these exports will go to countries in Southeast Asia, Masuko said. Although these exports will be for Asian markets, just the fact that Mitsubishi is expanding and plans to increase overall business will be good news for the U.S. market. Manufacturing here could be added at some point in the future and prices may be even more competitive with the automaker cranking out more cars.

Customers in Bloomington IL who buy used cars may benefit as well, with more electric and hybrid cars being produced the price of pre-owned hybrids and electrics may come down as well.

Mitsubishi is looking at the possibility of making the global small car in its Thailand facilities, which, according to Masuko, will produce about 200,000 units annually. Some Japanese automakers are shifting portions of their manufacturing to the United States, which has certainly helped boost the sagging auto industry here.

When vehicles are produced here, consumers feel better about buying them, especially when the prices remain competitive. We talk about buying American all the time, but our government and corporations do little to make domestic products affordable.

Perhaps Mitsubishi will follow the lead of companies like Toyota who are bringing production to the United States on a large scale. Your Bloomington car dealer does have great deals on Mitsubishi right now and new models will be arriving soon. So if you are looking in Bloomington IL to buy a used car, check out the local dealers and see if they have just the model for you.