Mitsubishi has announced plans to build a new European engine plant.

Rolf Eckrodt, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation chief operating officer, said that this new plant will be used to build approxiamately 200,000 units a year, including the Misubishi GDI petrol engines and Mercedes diesel engines for the Z-car project, production of which starts at the NedCar plant in the Netherlands in 2002/2003.

Although the location of the engine plant is yet to be confirmed, it is thought the new site will be based in Germany or Eastern Europe.