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Mitsubishi Motors Reports August Sales

4 September 1997

Mitsubishi Motors August Car Sales Reach 20,086 Units; Best-Ever August Eclipse Sales Help Boost YTD Company's Performance 5 Percent

    CYPRESS, Calif., Sept. 3 -- Mitsubishi Motor Sales of
America, Inc. (MMSA) reported August, 1997 sales of 20,086, units, an increase
of 34 percent over the same period last year.  On a year-to-date basis, total
sales of 131,572 represent an increase of 5 percent over the 124,919 units
MMSA sold in the first eight months of 1996.
    Kevin Ormes, group vice president of sales and marketing, noted that
MMSA's solid product line, more focused marketing efforts and the overall
strength of the U.S. economy lead to the superior performance for the month
and year so far.  "Our product line is very competitive on price, value and
style," he said.
    MMSA's sales leader was the Eclipse sports coupe with 6,486 units, up 16
percent over August, 1996 and the model's best August on record.  The Eclipse
Spyder convertible recorded 1,019 sales for the month, up 46 percent over the
same period last year.  Sales of the Galant mid-size sedan reached 3,127 units
for the month.  Collectively, sales of U.S.-assembled Mitsubishi Motors
vehicles total 10,631 units, up 3 percent from August, 1996.
    Also selling very well in August was Mitsubishi Motors' popular new sport
utility vehicle, the mid-size Montero Sport, reaching 3,205 units for the
month.  Sales of its luxury sport utility vehicle, Montero, reached 841 units.
For the year, Mitsubishi Motors' sport utility vehicle sales totaled 24,699
units, 202 percent ahead of last year.
    Sales of the Diamante luxury performance sedan totaled 1,206 units, one of
the strongest months since its launch, proving its combination of style,
performance and value are quite desirable.  The high-value Mirage compact
sedan and coupe together total 3,555 unit sales, up 40 percent over last year.
    Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc. was established in 1982 by
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Tokyo, and markets a full line of vehicles,
including coupes, convertibles, sedans and sport utility vehicles.

                                Aug. '97            Aug. '96        %Change
                               Month/YTD           Month/YTD      Month/YTD
    Passenger Car Sales*  16,040/106,666      13,893/113,799       +15%/-6%
    Sport Utility
      Vehicles**            4,046/24,699           794/8,171    +410%/+202%
    Trucks***                      0/207           326/2,949     -100%/-93%
    Total Vehicle Sales   20,086/131,572      15,013/124,919       +34%/+5%

    Note: U.S.-Built
      Vehicle Sales       10,631/ 74,070      10,330/ 85,119       +3%/-13%
      (Includes Eclipse/Eclipse Spyder/Galant)

    *Above totals include sales of U.S.-built Mitsubishi Motors vehicles
    **Includes Montero and Montero Sport
    ***Truck sales include inventory stock only; MMSA stopped selling Mighty
Max pickup truck early in 1996
    Please note sales chart format has changed slightly: SUV's are now broken
out separately, therefore dramatically altering year-to-date volume and
percentages which reflect this change.

SOURCE  Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc.