Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. Manufacturing Division

Formerly	Diamond-Star Motors (1985–1995) Mitsubishi Motors North America (2002–2016)
Company type	Joint venture
Industry	Automotive
Founded	October 1985
Founders	Chrysler Corp. Mitsubishi Motors
Defunct	November 2015; 10 years ago (2015-11)
Fate	Chrysler sold its equity stake to Mitsubishi in 1993, which became the sole owner
Headquarters	100 N. Mitsubishi Motorway,Normal, Illinois 61761, United States
Key people	Jerry Berwanger(EVP, COO) Hideyasu Tagaya(Chairman, MMNA)
Products	Automobiles
Brands	Chrysler Dodge Eagle Mitsubishi Plymouth
Owner	Chrysler (1985–1993) Mitsubishi Motors (1985–2016) Rivian (2017-Present)
Number of employees	1,900
Parent	Mitsubishi North America

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. Manufacturing Division (originally,Diamond-Star Motors) was anautomobile-manufacturingjoint venture between theChrysler Corporation andMitsubishi Motors.^[1] The name came from the parent companies' respectivelogos: threediamonds (Mitsubishi) and a pentastar (Chrysler).^[2]

Diamond-Star Motors was officially renamed "Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, Inc." (MMMA) in 1995, four years after Mitsubishi took sole control of the plant, and from 2002 to 2016 its official name had been "Mitsubishi Motors North America", Inc.", and "Manufacturing Division".^[3]

In the automotive enthusiast community,DSM, especially used in the singular (e.g.a DSM) generally refers to the original first- and second-generationMitsubishi Eclipse,Eagle Talon, andPlymouth Laser, which all shared the same Diamond-Star Motorsvehicle platform.

The origins of Diamond-Star Motors can be traced back to 1970 when Chrysler took a 15 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors, as part of MMC's strategy of expansion throughalliances with foreign partners. The U.S. company began distributing Mitsubishis asChrysler-,Dodge-, andPlymouth-brandedcaptive imports (e.g.Dodge Colt), a successful venture as thecompact cars met consumer demand for smaller and morefuel-efficient vehicles in the 1970s, filling a gap at the bottom of the Chrysler group's range.^[4]

By 1982, Chrysler was importing 110,000 Mitsubishis annually. However, a minor conflict was forming as the Japanese now wanted to sell directly through their own-branded dealerships. A voluntaryimport quota system was in place at this time, restricting the number of cars Japaneseautomakers could bring into the U.S. As the Japanese company began to open its own branded dealerships to sell directly, every importedCordia,Tredia, andStarion sold by Mitsubishi had to be discounted from Chrysler's allocation.^[4] Another point of contention was that Chrysler had the right of first refusal of any Mitsubishi automobiles in the US market until 1990.^[5]

In order to circumvent this, the two partners officially incorporated Diamond-Star Motors in October 1985. An incentive package worthUS$274 million, and an intense and controversial lobbying effort by state and local government authorities, meant thatIllinois won the new auto plant,^[6] and in April 1986 ground was broken on a 1,900,000 sq ft (180,000 m²) production facility in the town ofNormal. The plant was completed in March 1988, with an annual capacity of 240,000 vehicles.^[3] In 1989, the workers at the plant formedUnited Auto Workers Local 2488, and signed their first contract with the company.^[7]

Initially, three models were produced at this facility. TheMitsubishi Eclipse,Plymouth Laser, andEagle Talon were smaller2+2 sports cars on a new co-designed platform. Models subsequently produced during the next decade included theMitsubishi Mirage/Dodge/Plymouth Colt/Eagle Summit sedans, theMitsubishi Galant, theDodge Avenger Coupe/Chrysler Sebring Coupe, and theDodge Stratus Coupe.^[8]

Initially Diamond-Star Motors was a 50-50joint venture between Chrysler and Mitsubishi. However, in 1991 the Japanese company purchased its partner's interest, and thereafter the manufacture of Chrysler vehicles was on a contractual basis. Chrysler sold its equity stake to Mitsubishi in 1993, and Diamond-Star Motors was renamed Mitsubishi Motors Manufacturing America (MMMA) on July 1, 1995.^[3] Despite the departure, the two companies have maintained various co-operative manufacturing agreements since and considered all vehicle produced until 1995^[9] as Diamond Star Motors.

Formerly, the plant produced vehicles using the American-developedMitsubishi PS platform, including theEndeavor,Galant, andEclipse. An expansion in 2003 enlarged the plant to 2,400,000 sq ft (220,000 m²).^[10] In mid-2012, the plant began producing theMitsubishi ASX which is sold in United States as the Outlander Sport. Approximately 1,900 people worked in the highly mechanized plant, alongside approximately 1,000 robots.

In July 2015, Mitsubishi announced that it would end production at the plant inNormal. The plant had been operating well below capacity for several years. In 2014, it produced just over 61,000 vehicles out of a capacity of 240,000 vehicles annually. Production would shift to Japan, with Mitsubishi importing all vehicles sold in North America. Mitsubishi said it would try to sell the plant to preserve jobs, but that the plant would be closed by November if no buyer was found.^[11] Ultimately a buyer was not found in time, and production ended on the 30th of November. Most of the workers (900 out of 1200) were let go on that date, with the rest staying to build replacement parts until the final closure of the plant in May 2016.^[12] Eventually the plant was sold to Maynards Industries, an auctioning and liquidation firm, with ownership to transfer June 1, 2016.^[13]

Currently, the facility is owned by American electric vehicle startupRivian, which in 2017 acquired the plant and its contents for $16 million.

40°30′32″N89°3′16″W / 40.50889°N 89.05444°W /40.50889; -89.05444

• Buildings and structures completed in 1988
• Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1985
• Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2015
• Mitsubishi Motors factories
• Companies based in Bloomington–Normal
• Former joint ventures
• Motor vehicle assembly plants in Illinois
• Chrysler factories
• 1985 establishments in Illinois
• 2015 disestablishments in Illinois
• Normal, Illinois

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Webarchive template archiveis links
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata