Victories by the Lancer, shown in the African Safari Rally, gained much needed worldwide publicity for Mitsubishi Motors in the early 1970s.

Mitsubishi's motor vehicle business had become so important and successful an enterprise by the end of the 1960s that the creation of a single operation to focus on that business was an obvious way forward. In 1970, the Motor Vehicle Division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. became independent under the name Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC). So it was with a renewed optimism and sense of purpose that the fledgling company, but with a rich inheritance of technology behind it, entered the 1970s.

One area of concentration for MMC was the further development of its own infrastructure in Japan, covering all fields from R&D and production to distributor networks and after sales service. Yet it was an event in Australia that pointed MMC in the direction of a global role. In 1972, a Galant 16GLS won outright the 7th Southern Cross Rally, a highly prestigious long-distance rally raid covered by the world's motoring press. The next year, the same event was won by a Lancer 1600GSR, the Lancer series having been launched only months earlier. The same model repeated its Australian success in 1974, when it also won the East Africa Safari Rally, and again in 1976. MMC was now demonstrating the superb performance and reliability qualities of its vehicles on a world stage.

While Mitsubishi cars were winning such honors, MMC was busy setting up an international distributor network to get their vehicles into the hands of a sophisticated motoring public that understood the virtues that Mitsubishi vehicles embodied. Following the 1973 "Oil Crisis," the world felt the power of the oil producing nations. Even as the price of gasoline spiraled, motorists were reluctant to sacrifice performance for fuel economy.

In combining economy with performance, Mitsubishi cars set a standard that captured the imagination. The decade ended with the Colt 1400 GLX winning Japan's Motor Fan magazine's "Car of the Year" award and the L200 taking the "USA's Pickup of the Year" award given by Pickup, Van & 4WD magazine.

Mitsubishi Motors had also been breaking new ground on the technology front, most significantly in the development of Silent Shaft technology for the Astron 80 engine. This was a world-first achievement and was saluted by Japan's Automobile Technology Association with its "Prize for Science." Japanese automobile technology in general was now respected worldwide, and Mitsubishi was once again at the forefront of innovation.