Mitsubishi Shifts Management

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Monday that it had appointed a Japanese executive to share the top post at its North American unit in an effort to bolster communication between the ailing automaker’s key operations.

Hiroshi Harunari, managing director of overseas operations for Tokyo-based Mitsubishi, will become president and chief executive of Mitsubishi Motors North America in Cypress on Jan. 1.

Rich Gilligan, 62, who has held those posts since January, will continue as co-president and co-chief executive of Mitsubishi’s North American operation. Gilligan had reported to Harunari, who temporarily will retain his overseas operations post as well.

Mitsubishi, plagued by plummeting sales at home and in the U.S. during the last two years, was rescued from near-insolvency by a consortium of Japanese and international investors this year.

Mitsubishi plans to introduce four vehicles in North America in the next 20 months. And it has seen its U.S. sales increase, on a year-to-year comparison, for four of the last five months.