Thursday’s reports from Japan have Mitsubishi upping production of its global four-cylinder engines by more than a third. By the fall of 2009, Japan’s fourth-biggest vehicle manufacturer will produce 385,000 powerplants annually.
About 9 billion yen ($83.4 million) will be spent on the company’s Shiga Prefecture plant to achieve this increase in capacity, according to Japan’s Nikkei daily newspaper.
The all-aluminum engines are primarily used to power Mitsubishi ’s Lancer sedan and Outlander SUV that are exported globally. The 2.4-liter inline-four is used Stateside in the Outlander, while a 2.0 liter four powers all naturally aspirated Lancers here. A 1.8 liter engine is used in other markets. All three were developed in conjunction with Daimler and Hyundai , and a version of the 2.4 powers the Dodge Caliber.
