On December 26, 2015, Mitsubishi USA announced that it had retailed its 5 millionth car in the USA, after almost 33 years on the market.
The company didn’t specify which model was its 5 millionth sale in the land of the free.
As an automotive brand, it wasn’t until 1982 that Mitsubishi launched itself onto the American market, although its cars had been sold here since the 1970s.
During that earlier period, its models were “captive imports”, that is they were rebadged and sold by an American brand. In Mitsubishi’s case, its captive imports were sold under Chrysler’s various marques.
Even after Mitsubishi began selling its own cars Stateside under its own badge, the company continued to offer various vehicles in badge engineered form to Chrysler. At other times, Chrysler would use a Mitsubishi platform and put a completely new body on top.
