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Mitsubishi Motors to Set Up New Rally Car Unit to Improve Image
2002-11-26 04:55 (New York)

Mitsubishi Motors to Set Up New Rally Car Unit to Improve Image

Tokyo, Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp., 37
percent owned by DaimlerChrysler AG, will set up a new unit in
Germany next January to oversee the company's rally car activities
as the automaker seeks to improve its brand in Europe.
The new company will handle Mitsubishi Motors' involvement in
the Paris-Dakar rally and the World Rally Championships, as well
as participating in the development of racing cars for Mitsubishi
Motors, said company spokesman Toru Kawahata, confirming an
earlier report in Jiji Press.
The new unit will be headed by Sven Quandt, who has driven
for Bayerische Moteren Werke AG's rally team. Members of the
Quandt family are shareholders in BMW.
Mitsubishi Motors, which plans to return to profit in Europe
next year, is investing in its image to improve its brand in
Europe where rallying is a popular sport. The automaker races its
Lancer Evolution sedan and Pajero sport-utility vehicle.
Japan's fourth-largest automaker will invest an undisclosed
amount in the new company, which has yet to be officially named,
Mitsubishi said.
Mitsubishi Motors shares closed down 4.4 percent at 242 yen.