Mitsubishi to Take Control of Florida Rental Car Firm

Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America announced Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Value Rent-A-Car Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Mitsubishi said control of the Deerfield, Fla.-based rental car firm, which operates 25 rental outlets in six states, would provide added exposure for Mitsubishi products and good used cars for Mitsubishi’s 416 U.S. dealers.

The sale, scheduled to be completed by May 31, calls for Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motor Sales to acquire more than 50% of Value’s stock and all of the company’s real estate holdings. Most of Value’s operations are in Florida, but the company also has facilities in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana and Nevada.

Mitsubishi Motor Sales, a bit player for most of the seven years it has been selling cars in the United States, has experienced a sales surge recently on the strength of a revamped product line. It has advanced to fourth place among Japanese car companies in this country.

The company imports cars and light trucks built by Mitsubishi Motor Corp. in Japan and also sells vehicles produced by the Diamond Star Motors plant in Illinois, a joint venture between Mitsubishi and Chrysler Corp.

Fleet sales currently account for about 15% of Mitsubishi’s sales, which totaled 150,476 vehicles last year. That percentage will not change with the acquisition of Value, the company said. But the portion of Mitsubishi vehicles in the Value fleet will jump from 10% to 85% by year’s end.