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17 11.5 to 11.10.2018 Salão do Automóvel S ão Paulo - HPE Automotores, the Mitsubishi vehicles manufacturer in Brazil, announced on Wednesday, 7, during a press conference at the Salão do Automóvel, an investment of R$ 300 million in Catalão, GO, to nationalize the SUV Eclipse Cross, launched in the market (still imported) this year. According to its president, Robert Rittscher, the first units will begin to leave the assembly lines in the second half of next year. The ASX, L200 Triton, Lancer and Suzuki Jimny models are currently produced at the factory in Catalão, which completed 20 years old in August. Rittscher said that the money will be applied specifically to Mitsubishi products, for line customization, infrastructure, licenses and training: “Most will go to Eclipse Cross, but the value also includes the evolution of other products, such as pickup trucks”. Hirings are also in the unit’s planning, which works on a shift but operates only with 30% of its capacity of 100 thousand vehicles/year - achieved after the investment of more than R$ 1 billion applied from 2010. The president said that HPE employs a total of 2 thousand people in Brazil and is expected to expand its workforce by around 10% after the investment. This year, Mitsubishi plans to sell 27 thousand vehicles in Brazil, a volume that represents an increase of 18% over last year. Rittscher said he expects similar performance for 2019: “We will have new vehicles, some changes in the lines and we are optimistic about the market. We think we will be able to repeat this growth level in 2019”. As for Suzuki, HPE will bring the new generation of Jimny to Brazil from next year. It will live with the current model produced at the factory in Goiás. Mitsubishi to produce Eclipse Cross in Catalão André Barros | andrebarros@autodata.com.br AutoData News Agency Weekly Edition is produced by AutoData Editora Ltda . Rua Pascal, 1693 Campo Belo - São Paulo SP Brazil CEP 04719-001 Phone +55 11 5189 8900 . Translation: Allex Chies. Graphic Project/Art: Romeu Bassi Neto. Associated Team: André Barros, Bruno de Oliveira, Caio Bednarski, Leandro Alves, Márcio Stéfani. Responsible Journalist: Vicente Alessi, filho MS SJPESP 4 874. Editorial agreements: Tiempo Motor (Argentina) and Flash de Motor (Venezuela). The copying and/or distribution without previous permission are strictly forbidden.