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Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
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Mitsubishi Up, OC Automakers Cheer Jan.

Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. said its U.S. sales were up 2.8% in January versus a year earlier.

The automaker said it sold 7,469 vehicles in the month.

Mitsubishi, which as been working to reverse a slump, followed three up months with a 13.2% sales decline in December.

The automaker saw its U.S. sales drop 23% in 2005 to 123,995 vehicles, giving it a 0.7% share. Its goal is 1% to 2% of the market this year.

A few years ago, Mitsubishi had about 2% of the market, before its easy credit policies and unprofitable sales to rental car companies came back to haunt it.

Mitsubishi said its Eclipse Spyder convertible is set to be in dealerships by spring. It’s also planning to launch an Outlander SUV in the fall.

Most all other local automakers saw a positive January:

* Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc., a unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., saw sales rise 16% to 30,208 for the month.

* Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp., the U.S. arm of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp., posted sales up 33% to 7,210 autos in the month, versus a year earlier.

* Mazda North American Operations, an Irvine-based unit of Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp., sold 18, 177 autos in January, up 7% from a year earlier.

* Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc., an affiliate of South Korea’s Hyundai, said sales last month rose 5.6%, after three months of declines. It sold 18,110 vehicles in January.

* Volvo Cars of North America LLC, the largest unit of Ford Motor Co.’s Irvine-based Premier Automotive Group, saw is January sales fall 12% to 8,881 vehicles.

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