Mitsubishi Buys Mothballed Ford Factory in Philippines

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has acquired a shuttered Ford Motor Co. plant in Laguna, the Philippines, and aims to launch production there in 2015, Automotive News reports.

Ford closed the facility at the end of 2012. MMC aims to relaunch the factory with capacity to make 50,000 Adventure small crossovers per year. Output could be doubled if demand is strong enough.

MMC will use the plant to expand sales in southeast Asia, a target market in the company's growth strategy. Mitsubishi also operates an assembly plant in Cainta that has annual capacity to make 30,000 vehicles.