Mitsubishi Motors Makes Shiga Plant Japanese Production Facility of World Engine Initial investment will exceed 10 billion yen Production to start in early 2005 Tokyo, October 3, 2003 - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) today announced that it will build the World Engine at its powertrain plant in Shiga. Initial investment will exceed 10 billion yen. The plant's floor space will be expanded by 12,000 square meters to 67,000. Construction at the facility is expected to be completed in the summer of 2004. The rigorous Quality Gate System already applied in MMC's vehicle development and production process will also be introduced in this engine production. Actual production at the Shiga plant is scheduled for spring of 2005. The first Mitsubishi vehicles powered by the World Engine will be launched in Japan in 2005. "This major investment is a tribute to our highly qualified and motivated workforce in Japan. It also shows our strong commitment to the Japanese market. We aggressively continue to achieve economies of scale while aiming for first-class quality. Everyone involved wins, but especially current and future customers of Mitsubishi Motors do benefit," said Rolf Eckrodt, MMC President & CEO. The World Engine project aims at making the Shiga World Engine plant one of the most productive in the world. The new in-line four-cylinder engine (IL4 series) with displacements of 1.8, 2.0 and 2.4 liter promises to become the best in class. The modern aluminum design of the IL4 series engine will enhance fuel and emissions efficiency and provide improved performance. In May 2002, Mitsubishi Motors, Chrysler Group, and Hyundai Motor announced that they had entered into the Global Engine Alliance joint venture, to design, develop and engineer a family of four-cylinder engines. In February 2003, Global Engine Alliance announced that Dundee, Michigan, has been chosen as the site in the United States for a new engine production facility. The American production facility will be jointly developed and operated by members of all three companies. Production at the U.S. facility is also scheduled to begin in 2005. Total annual worldwide production of this engine family is estimated at over 1.5 million units, and will become one of the highest-volume engine families in the world.