Mitsubishi Electric is selling half of its automotive subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Mobility to Foxconn.
Division revenue in FY2025: ¥919.2 billion ($5.8 billion).
Focus: alternators and starters.
The details
Mitsubishi Electric had originally considered withdrawing completely from the auto parts business. Instead, the choice fell on a joint venture with Foxconn, whose cost advantages in manufacturing are intended to strengthen the competitive position.
Foxconn's Japan strategy
The deal joins a series of partnerships. In January, Foxconn and Mitsubishi Fuso founded a joint venture for electric buses to be built at Fuso's plant in Japan.
In 2024, Foxconn had already acquired 50% of a ZF chassis subsidiary in Germany. Chair Young Liu has openly stated that he sees all major Japanese automakers as potential customers.
Foxconn's calculation
The attempt to directly buy into Japanese OEMs failed in 2025 due to institutional resistance (Nissan).
The new strategy: work your way into the system through suppliers and components instead of going through the front door. Component business and commercial vehicle JVs are financially harder to reject than a hostile takeover.
Whether Foxconn actually becomes a contract manufacturer for the automotive industry depends on whether Japanese OEMs are willing long-term to source core components from Taiwan. So far, they prefer to buy from themselves.
Sources: Automotive World, MSN
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