Mitsubishi Motors buys Ford Philippine auto plant

TOKYO  — Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Monday it is buying Ford's shuttered plant in the Philippines to grow in market where car ownership is on the rise.

Mitsubishi Motors said it was acquiring the plant in Laguna, south of Manila, from Ford Motor Co. to boost production and sales. Ford closed that plant in 2012. The Tokyo-based automaker did not give a price.

Mitsubishi controls more than a fifth of the Philippine market, where Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp. has top market share. Various automakers have their eyes on the nation because car ownership is expected to grow.

The Philippine economy grew 7.2 percent last year, the second fastest in Asia after China.

Mitsubishi produces the Adventure minivan, L300 truck and Lancer sedan in the Philippines at a smaller plant it runs near Manila. The models it will produce at the new plant weren't disclosed.