Mitsubishi's Ralliart closes it's doors .......

Chopped · 11-03-2010, 10:49 AM

But don't panic / this will not affect anything and you can still buy Ralliart badged cars !

"In a letter issued to its customers, Ralliart, a Japanese high-performance subsidiary of Mitsubishi, has announced that it is closing its doors. The company's business case has apparently faded, a victim of the wilting domestic aftermarket scene as well as its lack of continued motorsports involvement.

Naturally, we wondered if and how the closure of the company responsible for its high-performance parts and related merchandise would impact the development, production and marketing of Mitsubishi vehicles sold here in the States – more specifically, the Lancer Ralliart and Sportback Ralliart models. To answer that question, we spoke with Mitsu spokesman Maurice Durand, and he informs us that the closure of Ralliart will not, in fact, have any affect on the availability or continued marketing of these models (or any future branded offerings), as Mitsubishi owns the rights to the name, logo, and so on. Furthermore, all licensing agreements in foreign countries remain intact.

So, while you may not be able to get a genuine JDM Ralliart strut-tower brace or shift knob, you can breath easy that the SportBack that you've been saving your lunch money for will still be at your local dealer by the time you've got enough scratch. Official press release after the jump."

Source > http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/10/r...hat/#continued

trippytaka · 11-03-2010, 11:02 AM

The Japanese Domestic Market has been in decline for quite a number of years. Some of the biggest names in the aftermarket over there have been a victim of a declining market.

I wrote a piece on it for the motoring section of The National Newspaper, in Abu Dhabi a year and a bit ago...

Have a read. This is what's been going on over there. My Artcile