Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced Tuesday it will jointly develop and manufacture a midsize pickup truck for the North American market with the Chrysler Group of German-American automotive giant DaimlerChrysler AG.
Manufacturing of the new model will start later next year at Chrysler's Warren plant in Michigan. Production volume has yet to be disclosed.
The joint project, the result of an alliance between MMC and DaimlerChrysler, is expected to help the two carmakers cut development and production costs, MMC officials said.
Chrysler plans to launch the pickup next year as the successor to its Dodge Dakota model, while MMC plans to introduce the vehicle in the U.S. and Canada in 2005, MMC officials said.
Although MMC and Chrysler share technology and manufacturing lines, the two companies will develop designs separately to reflect their brand images, they said.
By launching the model, MMC will enter the U.S. midsize pickup market, which has annual sales of 900,000 units, with hopes of boosting its sluggish sales there, MMC said.
MMC's North American sales in the April-September period dropped 27 percent from a year earlier to 150,000 vehicles.