Hideyasu Tagaya, head of Mitsubishi's operations in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, said the first batch of Pajero Sport made by Beijing Jeep Corp, a joint venture with German-US auto giant DaimlerChrysler, will roll off the assembly line in March.

Mitsubishi and Beijing Jeep signed a technical licensing agreement in June for the manufacture of the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. Annual output is expected to reach 10,000 units.

This marked the first time that Mitsubishi had built its vehicles in China.

DaimlerChrysler, which controls 42.4 percent of Beijing Jeep, owns 37 percent of Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

This was followed in November by another technical licensing agreement for the manufacture of Mitsubishi's latest sports utility vehicle (SUV) model, Outlander, in early 2004.

To promote the Pajero Sport brand, Mitsubishi has introduced 200 units to the Chinese market, according to Tagaya.

Priced at 420,000 yuan (US$50,790) per unit, Pajero Sport is the latest SUV model launched in China, where the vehicles are getting increasingly popular.

(China Daily December 20, 2002)