The history of Mitsubishi as an automobile manufacturer dates back long before the Motor Vehicles Division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. was incorporated as Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in 1970. Mitsubishi's epoch making vehicle which rolled off the assembly line in 1917 was the Model-A, Japan's first series production passenger car. Always the innovator, the Mitsubishi Model-A was the pioneer of vehicles in Japan. In the early years, vehicles were produced by the ship and aircraft manufacturing arm of Mitsubishi. Therein lies the provenance of Mitsubishi Motors' engineering excellence and the resultant reputation for outstanding reliability and all around performance of its vehicles.

Today, Mitsubishi Motors ranks as one of the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, and one of the very few that can boast a vehicle lineup which extends from mini cars to heavy-duty trucks, buses and other specialized commercial vehicles.