French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said yesterday it is in talks with Mitsubishi Motors Corp that could lead to a “strategic partnership.”
In a statement, France’s biggest automaker said it “confirms that it has started discussions with Mitsubishi Motors ... concerning the possibility of extending their relationship which could lead to a strategic partnership.”
The statement did not go as far as a report in Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun which said that Peugeot Citroen will buy a 30 percent to 50 percent stake in Japan’s fourth largest automaker for up to ¥300 billion (US$3.4 billion).
The report sent shares in Mitsubishi soaring. They closed up 13.4 percent at ¥135 in Tokyo after earlier soaring nearly 20 percent.
On Wednesday, Peugeot Citroen shares closed up 1.3 percent at 24.59 euros (US$37.17).
Mitsubishi declined to confirm the Japanese newspaper report, which gave no sources. However, the Japanese company issued a statement saying: “There are no facts to be announced.”
The paper said Peugeot Citroen — Europe’s second biggest car company — and Mitsubishi are in the final stages of capital tie-up talks.
The deal could effectively put Mitsubishi under Peugeot Citroen’s control, creating the world’s sixth-largest automobile alliance.
The French carmaker may seek more than a 50 percent stake in Mitsubishi, hoping to tap into Mitsubishi’s expertise in electric vehicles and other environmental technology, the paper said.
Paris-based Peugeot Citroen said it has already worked with Mitsubishi on product development with cooperation on 4x4 vehicles, clean technologies with electric vehicles and a joint venture in Russia.
The electric car, to be launched in Europe by the end of next year, will be based on Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV, which was launched on the Japanese market in June.
Mitsubishi will make 2,000 units of the i-MiEV in the current fiscal year to March next year. The company said yesterday it aims to boost i-MiEV production to 15,000 units by March 2012.
In Russia they have set up an auto factory to make mid-sized sport utility vehicles. Production at the Russian joint venture will begin in early 2012.
Mitsubishi had formed a capital tie-up with German automobile maker DaimlerChrysler AG, which held a 37.3 percent stake in the Japanese automaker. But Stuttgart-based DaimlerChrysler sold the entire stake in Mitsubishi in 2005, putting an end to the tie-up.
ADDTIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique