The newly named CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has vowed to achieve growth by strengthening the company's competitiveness through its alliance with Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA in the fast-evolving auto industry.

"I hope to brush up our competitiveness through the use of the alliance and a focused strategy. I will step up efforts to achieve stable growth," the 57-year-old Takao Kato, president of Mitsubishi Motors' operations in Indonesia, said at a news conference Monday after being chosen last week to replace Osamu Masuko as CEO next month.

The 70-year-old Masuko will remain chairman with representative rights and continue to handle negotiations with Nissan and Renault over management of the three-way alliance, recently rocked by the arrest of its leader, Carlos Ghosn, for alleged financial misconduct.