Company type | Subsidiary | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Industry | Automotive | ||||||
Founded | 1995 | ||||||
Headquarters | Fuzhou, Fujian, China | ||||||
Area served | Worldwide | ||||||
Key people | Zi-Sheng Zuo (President) [1] | ||||||
Products | Automobiles | ||||||
Owner | Chery (100%) | ||||||
Chinese name | |||||||
Simplified Chinese | 东南(福建)汽车工业有限公司 | ||||||
Traditional Chinese | 東南(福建)汽車工業有限公司 | ||||||
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Website | www |
South East (Fujian) Motor Co., Ltd., trading as Soueast, is a Chinese automobile manufacturer based in Fuzhou, Fujian, and was a joint venture between China Motor Corporation (25%), Fujian Motor Industry Group (50%) and Mitsubishi Motors (25%). [2] [3] [4] [5] Its principal activity is the design, development, production and sale of passenger cars and minibuses sold under the Soueast marque. [6] It also manufactures Mitsubishi brand passenger cars for sale in mainland China. [7]
As of early 2011, Soueast had an annual production capacity of around 180,000 units, but this was set to rise to 300,000 with the completion of current construction, [8] which may have been finished by early 2012. [note 1]
Although the competition is fierce, the niche has advantages in the market segment, which has earned it a certain degree of praise among buyers who focus on controllability. It once exceeded 100,000 units. In May 2021, Mitsubishi announced its withdrawal from Southeast Motor, ending 26 years between the two parties. years of cooperation. In mid-2023, Mitsubishi officially ended the sale of all shares in the Chinese market. China Motor Corporation stated that they have stopped introducing models for a period of time without much impact. They are still optimistic about the future of the Soueast Auto brand and will mainly accelerate modernization and electrification. [9]
The company was acquired by Chery in 2024 and is currently producing Jetour vehicles. [10] [11]
Soueast was founded in November 1995 as a joint venture between China Motor Corporation and Fujian Motor Industry Group. [12] [3] Mitsubishi became a partner in the joint venture in 2006. [3]
In April 2008, Soueast was awarded a contract to supply 5,700 Delica minibuses to the Iranian Mehreghan Co. [13] [14] In the same year, Jackie Chan was signed on as a Mitsubishi brand ambassador for Mainland China markets. [15]
Soueast Motors produces Soueast-branded models including the V3 and V5 sedans, and a range of Mitsubishi models for the Chinese market.
Soueast produces the following models under the Soueast marque:
Discontinued:
Soueast produces the following models under the Mitsubishi marque:
Soueast has at least one production base in Qingkou city, Minhou County, Fuzhou, Fujian province. [12] This location has probably been expanded three times [8] with the second phase possibly completed c. 2009 as that year saw a 150% increase in units produced. [16] As of early 2011, total yearly production capacity for all sites was forecast to soon reach 300,000 with the completion of the base's third phase. [8] February 2012 production was 37% higher than that of the previous year, [17] which may reflect this additional capacity coming online.
A total of 96,553 Soueast brand passenger cars were sold in China in 2013, making it the 38th largest-selling car brand in the country in that year (and the 21st largest-selling Chinese brand). [18]
The Mitsubishi Mirage is a range of cars produced by the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi from 1978 until 2003 and again since 2012. The hatchback models produced between 1978 and 2003 were classified as subcompact cars, while the sedan and station wagon models, marketed prominently as the Mitsubishi Lancer, were the compact offerings. The liftback introduced in 1988 complemented the sedan as an additional compact offering, and the coupé of 1991 fitted in with the subcompact range. The current Mirage model is a subcompact hatchback and sedan and it replaces the Mitsubishi Colt sold between 2002 and 2012.
The Mitsubishi Sirius or 4G6/4D6 engine is the name of one of Mitsubishi Motors' four series of inline-four automobile engines, along with Astron, Orion, and Saturn.
The Mitsubishi Orion or 4G1 engine is a series of inline-four internal combustion engines introduced by Mitsubishi Motors in around 1977, along with the Astron, Sirius, and Saturn. It was first introduced in the Colt and Colt-derived models in 1978. Displacement ranges from 1.2 to 1.6 L.
Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., trading as Chery, is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhu, Anhui, China. Founded in 1997, it is currently the third largest automobile manufacturer in China, with 1,881,316 vehicles sold in 2023.
China Motor Corporation is an automobile manufacturer based in Taipei, Taiwan.
Hafei, officially Hafei Motor Co., Ltd., is a Chinese automaker currently operating as a subsidiary of Changan Ford, and manufacturing passenger vehicles.
Chang'an Automobile Co., Ltd.(CCAG) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Jiangbei, Chongqing. Founded in 1862, it is China's oldest automobile maker. It is currently the smallest of the "Big Four" state-owned car manufacturers of China, namely: SAIC Motor, FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, and Changan Automobile, with car sales of 5.37 million, 3.50 million, 3.28 million and 2.30 million in 2021 respectively.
The Mitsubishi Delica is a range of vans and pickup trucks designed and built by the Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 1968. It was originally based on a cabover van and pickup truck introduced the previous year, also called the Delica, its name a contraction of the English language phrase Delivery car. This pickup truck, and a commercial van derived from it has received many names in export markets, being sold as the L300 in Europe, Jamaica and New Zealand, Express and Starwagon in Australia, and plain Mitsubishi Van and Wagon in the United States. The passenger car versions were known as Delica Star Wagon from 1979 until the 1994 introduction of the Delica Space Gear, which became simply Space Gear in Europe at least. The most recent version is called the Delica D:5. With the exception of the first, versions of all generations are still being sold in various international markets.
The Mitsubishi Freeca is a station wagon and pickup truck designed by Mitsubishi Motors and China Motor Corporation for the Asian market, and built in Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The Mitsubishi 4A9 engine is the newest family range of all-alloy inline four-cylinder engines from Mitsubishi Motors, introduced in the 2004 version of their Mitsubishi Colt supermini, and built by DaimlerChrysler-owned MDC Power in Germany.
Dongfeng Motor Corporation Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhan, Hubei. Founded in 1969, it is currently the smallest of the "Big Four" state-owned car manufacturers of China with 671,000 sales in 2023, below SAIC Motor, Changan Automobile and FAW Group.
TJ Innova Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd. (上海同济同捷科技股份有限公司), abbreviated as TJI, is a private design company for the automotive industry. They are specialized in creating vehicle concepts and in the building of design studies and concept cars. The company was founded in 1999 by Professor Leiled Tji and Tong Jian. The company is located in Shanghai.
The Fujian Motors Group is based in the Fujian Province, China and was founded in 1992.
The Soueast V5 Lingzhi (菱致) is a compact sedan produced by Chinese manufacturer Soueast Motors since 2012 to replace the Soueast V3 Lingzhi.
The Soueast A5 Yiwu (翼舞) is a compact sedan produced by Chinese manufacturer Soueast Motors since 2018 to replace the Soueast V5 Lingzhi.
The CMC Veryca (中華菱利) or CMC Varica (中華百利/中華威利) is a cabover kei truck and microvan built and sold in Taiwan by the Taiwanese automaker China Motor Corporation (CMC) (中華汽車) since 1985, with its predecessor entering production in 1978.
GAC Mitsubishi Motors Co., Ltd. was a joint venture automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Changsha, China. Established in 2012, it was the second vehicle manufacturing joint venture of Mitsubishi Motors in China after Soueast.
The Soueast DX5 is a compact crossover designed by Pininfarina and manufactured by Chinese automaker Soueast Motors.
1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | ||
sedan | subcompact | Lioncel | V3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
compact | V5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
hatchback | V6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
crossover | V Cross | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
midsize | DX7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
subcompact | DX3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
van | Veryca | C1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Delica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
MPV | compact | Freeca |