Mitsubishi’s hub in U.S. relocating to Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mitsubishi Motors announced Tuesday that it is relocating its North American headquarters from California to Tennessee, a move that will take the Japanese automaker closer to its sister company Nissan.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe — who made the announcement with Mitsubishi Motors North America — say the headquarters move from Cypress, Calif., to Franklin, Tenn., will result in an $18.25 million investment in the region and approximately 200 jobs.
Lee and Rolfe added that while they were in Japan last week during the Republican governor’s first trade mis
sion, they met with Mitsubishi’s global executives to persuade them to move to Tennessee. It is unclear what financial incentives state officials offered Mitsubishi to move to Tennessee.
“As we drive toward the future, this is the perfect time for us to move to a new home. While we say farewell to the Golden State with a heavy heart, we’re excited to say hello to Music City,” Fred Diaz, Mitsubishi Motors North America’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Franklin is located just south of Nashville.
Mitsubishi’s relocation announcement is the latest move in an industry that has found a warm reception in recent years in the American South, where politicians tend to take a dim view of labor unions and aggressive regulation.
“Over the years, Tennessee has become the epicenter of the Southeast’s thriving automotive sector, and I’m proud Mitsubishi Motors will call Franklin its U.S. home and bring 200 high-quality jobs to Middle Tennessee,” Lee said in a statement.
Mitsubishi Motors’ North American headquarters has been located in California since 1988. The company expects the relocation will begin in August and will be completed by the end of the year. Initially, a temporary office will handle operations to allow the company time to identify a permanent office.
Company officials say the move is part of an ongoing effort to “reinvent every aspect of Mitsubishi Motors in the U.S.,” as well as strengthen the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
Nissan has a production plant in Smyrna, Tenn., and owns a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors.
Last week, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. shareholders approved the ouster of Carlos Ghosn, who was pivotal in the Japanese automaker’s three-way partnership with Nissan and French automaker Renault until he was arrested on financial misconduct charges last year. Ghosn says he is innocent.
Mitsubishi shareholders then approved the appointment of Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard to replace Ghosn. Renault owns 43% of Nissan.
Mitsubishi has also faced its own scandals.
In 2016, the company disclosed it falsified mileage data. That followed a decadeslong cover-up of auto defects thought to have helped cause a fatal accident. In 2004, its president, Katsuhiko Kawasoe, was arrested. He was sentenced to three years in prison, which was suspended for five years, and did not serve time in jail.
German automaker Volkswagen operates a plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. — the state’s fourth-most-populous city. The company earlier this year unveiled an $800 million expansion at the plant, which is expected to create 1,000 jobs for electric-vehicle production beginning in 2022. It’s set to receive $50 million in state incentives.
Recently, Volkswagen workers voted against forming a factorywide union — handing a blow to the United Auto Workers’ efforts to gain a foothold among foreign auto facilities in the South.
General Motors also has a large manufacturing plant near Franklin. Additionally, more than 900 auto suppliers, including large ones such as Hankook Tire and Bridgestone Americas, operate in Tennessee.