Mitsubishi Motors Moves Away From Orange County

CYPRESS, CA — Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. will relocate its headquarters from Cypress to Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, the company announced Tuesday.

MMNA has been based in Orange County since 1988, in Fountain Valley prior to Cypress. The move will begin in August, and be completed by the end of the year, according to company officials.

Nearly 200 people currently work in MMNA's Cypress office.

All corporate departments will be relocating, including sales, marketing, IT, human resources, communications, parts and service, product planning, dealer operations, finance and legal, according to the company.

"This is an exciting time for us, with a refreshed leadership team, new-look dealerships and redesigned and all-new vehicles," said Fred Diaz, MMNA's president and CEO. "As we drive toward the future, this is the perfect time for us to move to a new home. While we say farewell to the Golden State with a heavy heart, we're excited to say hello to Music City."

"MMNA's move highlights efforts taken across the entire global landscape of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance to bring the companies closer together in key areas including procurement, development and cost efficiencies," according to a company statement. "The company chose Franklin as its new home because it allows MMNA to focus its efforts on company-wide reinvention and take advantage of the area's vibrant technology skill set, all while realizing cost savings through the business-friendly work environment and proximity to sister company, Nissan."

MMNA's West Coast parts distribution center, currently located on the existing headquarters campus, also will be relocating. MMNA is working with Nissan North America to establish the parts center in a newly constructed shared facility in Riverside.

Additionally, 25 employees representing the company's Western Region operations will move to new offices elsewhere in Orange County.

No other Mitsubishi Motors facilities in the U.S. are affected, including Mitsubishi Research and Development North America's R&D operations in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and MRDA government relations operations in Washington, D.C.
Initially, MMNA will operate out of temporary office space in Franklin while working with a commercial real estate firm to identify the company's permanent offices.

City News Service, Patch editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.