Embattled Japanese auto maker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said on Friday it had no plan to exit the North American market, denying a Wall Street Journal report that it was seeking a buyer for its U.S. operations.
The Journal reported in its Asian weekend edition that Mitsubishi Motors' new president, Osamu Masuko -- then head of overseas operations -- had met with several industry executives to seek a potential buyer during his trip to Detroit early last month for the annual North American International Auto Show.
The talks focused on the sale of Mitsubishi's assembly plant in Illinois and its North American sales unit in California, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
It said Masuko was accompanied by Yasushi Ando, head of Tokyo-based investment fund Phoenix Capital and a non-executive member of MMC's board. Phoenix, Mitsubishi's top shareholder, had been part of a team aiming to revitalise the auto maker since it sank into huge losses and debt caused by lending practices at its U.S. finance arm.
The two met privately with several executives including representatives from U.S. private equity fund Ripplewood Holdings LLC, which did not show much interest, the paper said.
"The article in the Wall Street Journal stating that MMC is seeking a buyer for its operations in the U.S. is groundless," the company said in a statement issued late on Friday.
It added that Masuko and Ando had not met with representatives from Ripplewood or Canadian parts maker Magna International Inc. during the auto show in Detroit.
"We have absolutely no plan or desire to withdraw from the North American market," a Mitsubishi spokesman in Tokyo said, repeating the company's stance after similar reports of an exit from North America had surfaced in Japan last year.
A few weeks after Masuko's trip to Detroit, Mitsubishi Motors outlined a new revival plan focused on leadership by three Mitsubishi group companies and which removed Phoenix Capital from the core rehabilitation team.
The auto maker has said repeatedly that fixing its business in North America -- for long its only profitable market -- was vital to its survival, predicting a return to profit by the end of 2006.
At a news conference in Detroit, Masuko announced plans to export the Galant sedan from the Illinois plant in a move aimed at filling unused capacity to cut losses.
Last year, Mitsubishi's U.S. sales plunged 37 percent to 161,600 units -- the lowest in 15 years and less than half what it sold two years prior.
Shares in Mitsubishi Motors ended up 0.73 percent at 138 yen on Friday, roughly in line with the broader Tokyo market.
