Mitsubishi Motors plans hiring blitz to hasten development of electric vehicles

Intent on speeding up development of its electric vehicles, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to aggressively recruit engineers from electronics and information technology manufacturers. The firm plans to take on 120 mid-areer engineers for the development of EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids. These hires are expected to help enhance proprietary MiEV technologies in such areas as battery management, drive control, energy efficiency and smooth acceleration.
As Japan’s major electronics makers are struggling to cut costs in the face of an earnings slump, engineers are expected to switch jobs and join an automotive industry that is developing new technologies faster. Mitsubishi Motors now sells such EVs as the i-MiEV minicar, as well as the commercial-use Minicab MiEV. The company plans to add an electric minitruck and a plug-in-hybrid version of the Outlander sport utility vehicle by the end of fiscal 2012. Aside from hiring more engineers to develop new technologies, Mitsubishi will also hire 50 mid-career staffers for clerical posts in several emerging markets such as Thailand and China. (October 3, 2012)