Mitsubishi Motors Corporation – Factory Tour
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Tokyo. The company is part of the Mitsubishi Group, a major Japanese conglomerate including multinational companies in various industries. The company was originally established from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1970. Since 2016, Mitsubishi Motors has been one-third owned by the Nissan Motor Company.
Corporate Information
- Company: Mitsubishi Motors Corporation
- Foundation: 1970
- Location: Headquartered in Tokyo
- Main Business: Automotive manufacturing
Mitsubishi Motors – Lean Characteristics
Mixed Flow Production, Visual Management
The Mitsubishi Motors Okazaki Plant was established in 1977. The plant is regarded as the company’s main factory and it also functions as the “mother factory” that develops new technologies and transfers them to their overseas factories. The land area of the plant covers around one million square meters and includes its own test track and R&D center.
The plant visit provides a unique experience to see the four key processes for manufacturing cars. On the tour you will see the stamping, welding, paint and final assembly shops. The opportunity to see the paint shop in an automotive factory is a rare privilege.
The main models manufactured in the Okazaki Plant are the RVR, the Outlander and the Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) and more than 90 percent of the cars produced in the plant are exported to overseas markets.
In the final assembly shop, the different vehicle models are produced in a mixed flow production manner. The final assembly shop features a kitting area (similar to that associated with the Set Parts System in Toyota) designed to free up space around the assembly line, increase labor efficiency and improve manufacturing quality. The shop floor visit also highlights effective use of automated guided vehicles (AGV) as well as visual management system and tools.
Bremen, Germany
I want to congratulate the Shinka Management Team for the fantastic organisation of the Lean Japan Tour 2023. The tour has been a business and life-changing experience for sure. On Day 1 I was already enlightened, and all the bits and pieces of a huge TQM puzzle came together to form a clear picture. The tour…
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Cupertino, California, United States
Great experience delivered by passionate professionals. The training is well-balanced between real life factory/hospital visits (lean in action), theory (basic concepts, why it makes sense) and exercise (set up your own mini factory line using lean concepts). All of this where it started: Japan. Definitely recommend the tour for any professional looking for ways to…
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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
The whole tour was very professionally undertaken and led. Paul and Ben have to be congratulated for putting together a very informative and very enjoyable experience. The itinerary was excellent and to see from the raw material all the way through the supply chain through to the finished product was superb. I loved the thought…
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Learning 5S and TPS while experiencing and living the Japanese culture through communication, direct interaction and viewing various live examples from different perspectives, created a solid reference for us to understand the main reason behind the success of these systems. This is a complete lifestyle that involves human contribution, a continuous thrive for improvement, and…
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates
It was a fasntastic tour from the beginning to the end. It was very well-organised and informative. Sessions were followed with practical training which concentrated more on the ideas that had been explained. The factories visited were chosen in a way that allowed the participants to see a live supply chain work. Big thanks to…
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Jerome, Idaho, United States
I was very impressed with the professionalism and preparedness of the Shinka team. The support both before and during the tour was fantastic. It was the right mix of culture and personal development. There were lots of learnings I will take with me.
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The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes training on the topics of lean management, kaizen and Japanese Business Culture, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the lean tour overview page.
Tour Inquiries
Interested in joining us in Japan? For additional information prior to registration please fill in the form provided or contact us.
The above form is for inquiries related to the Lean Japan Tour program, Shinka Management consulting and training services, and lean manufacturing software products. Shinka Management does not represent Mitsubishi. For Mitsubishi-related product, service and general public tour inquiries, please contact Mitsubishi directly.
