Contribution to Local Economy through Business Activities

Mitsubishi Motors Group has been developing business in the ASEAN region since before the rise of motorization, and we have grown up alongside these countries while developing close ties with the region based on the idea that “regional development” contributes to the development of our Group.
Through our business activities over many years, we have actively worked to resolve social issues in the regions where we operate, as well as to revitalize local communities, foster markets, and grasp consumer needs. We believe these efforts will also strengthen our business foundation and brand, enabling us to achieve both regional development and the sustainable growth of our company.
The ASEAN region is the core market for our growth strategy and an important foundation for the sustainable growth of our business.
In our medium- to long-term vision, we aim to achieve business growth centered on the ASEAN region, focusing on the two pillars of “growth by strengthening distinctive products and the brand” and “competitiveness enhancement through structural transformation.” Under this policy, we are advancing technologies such as electrification, continuously introducing new products, and expanding value chain businesses, with the aim of simultaneously contributing to the regional economy and achieving our sustainable growth.
Furthermore, we position “Contribution to Local Economy through Business Activities” as one of our material issues, and are working to create employment, expand investment, advance technology transfer, and promote exports, as well as develop people who support the automotive industry, thereby fostering the talent that will drive regional economic growth. Through these efforts, we will pursue business development in the ASEAN region and contributions to regional economies in an integrated manner.
In addition, to address the societal needs of the ASEAN region, we are engaging in initiatives that leverage our Groupʼs technologies and services in the environment and social fields.

Local subsidiaries are responsible for formulating and implementing activity plans for the material issue “Contribution to Local Economy through Business Activities” in the ASEAN region, while our sales division, as the responsible division, manages and oversees these initiatives. For local subsidiaries in the four countries where we have production bases—Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam—our sales division reviews the progress and results of initiatives twice a year and reports them to management through the Sustainability Committee.

We regard the ASEAN region as an important business base and are working to strengthen product competitiveness and respond to electrification.
Against the backdrop of a series of policy announcements by countries aimed at realizing a carbon-neutral society in recent years, we have also accelerated the deployment of electrified vehicles. In Thailand, we began production and sales of the new SUV "XFORCE (HEV)", following the HEV model of the "XPANDER" series. In FY2025, we launched the "DESTINATOR", a new midsize SUV, sequentially in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Through these business activities, we plan not only to generate business profits but also to expand employment in the ASEAN region. We employed approximately 10,300 people in FY2025 in the four countries where we have production bases: Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In FY2026, we will continue to create local employment through the expansion of our business in those regions.

In the ASEAN region, which is seeking to advance its industrial base, work experience within the Group in areas such as automobile manufacturing, sales, and services helps employees acquire specialized knowledge and skills and contributes to developing industrial talent capable of supporting regional economic growth.

We continue to make capital investments in plants, which support local economic growth. Under our medium- to long-term vision, we are promoting growth investments to support electrification and new product introductions. In particular, we are strengthening our production system for electrified vehicles, optimizing production capacity, and improving productivity through AI and DX. Accordingly, we plan to continue active investments in research and development and capital investments to achieve business growth in the region.

Our Group positions technology transfer to overseas sites as an important management foundation. With a focus on the ASEAN region, one of our priority regions, we are enhancing manufacturing capabilities and strengthening competitiveness through local production in each country. Under the medium- to long-term vision of “achieving both growth strategies and structural transformation,” we are accelerating the global deployment of technologies and know-how developed in Japan together with new-value creation initiatives, including electrification and intelligent technologies and productivity improvement through AI and DX.
In FY2025, we further accelerated the transfer of manufacturing technologies, including technologies for electrified vehicles developed in Japan, to overseas sites through the process of preparing for the production of new models such as the new “DESTINATOR” and the new cross-country SUV “PAJERO.”
The “Buddy system,” introduced to strengthen the manufacturing competitiveness of local subsidiaries, has also been established as a framework through which plants in Japan and overseas grow together. Under this system, plants in Japan serve as “Buddies” for overseas plants and provide practical support, including human resource development. From launching production lines for new models to mass production, they help strengthen competitiveness and transfer know-how in a wide range of areas, including quality control and logistics improvement.
The Production division has a manufacturing philosophy called the Mitsubishi Motors Production Way (MMPW). In FY2025, it was renewed under the slogan of “realizing customer satisfaction and excitement.” The MMPW is based on the principles of “building quality into each process,” “thorough elimination of overburden, unevenness, and waste,” “anticipating and preparing for future changes,” and “exploring new possibilities.” It is being rolled out and communicated across our operations in Japan and overseas. Based on these principles, we are deploying manufacturing technologies and know-how developed in Japan across our sites and practicing consistent manufacturing based on the MMPW, from kei cars to our flagship “PAJERO”.
Furthermore, to better motivate employees and strengthen their manufacturing capabilities, we are carrying out the three global initiatives of Global  Skill, Karakuri Kaizen^®, and QC Circle Activity competitions. Many employees from plants in ASEAN countries have participated in these competitions, which helped enhance mutual inspiration and coordination across our sites. Master trainers are assigned to sites throughout the ASEAN region to pass on manufacturing skills and shop-floor management knowledge.
Through training and certification of these master trainers by our global master trainers, we are strengthening locally rooted human resource development systems. By the end of FY2025, training of instructors for basic education programs had been completed, and training of instructors for advanced skills programs had begun.
Furthermore, to help local people acquire technological expertise, we provided scholarships and training vehicles to technical universities and vocational training schools in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In addition, we held online seminars for instructors to help students at vocational training schools preparing for careers in the automotive industry understand the latest technologies and industry needs.
Through these initiatives, we provide multifaceted support tailored to local needs and further promote technology transfer.

As the importance of complying with environmental regulations in the ASEAN region grows, The Group is leveraging our electric vehicle technology and expertise, as well as working with our partners in each region, to realize sustainable business in the region and to promote efforts to realize a carbon-neutral society. We are also engaging in environmental and social contribution activities rooted in local communities, not just businesses. These activities include donating to disaster-struck areas in different countries, supplying vehicles and parts to educational institutions, conducting education and training at vocational schools, and participating in tree planting and waste recycling activities.