First founded in 1870 by Iwasaki Yataro, The Mitsubishi Group is a large Japanese conglomerate covering a range of business, and has products in the following industries: mining, shipbuilding, telecom, financial services, insurance, electronics, automotive, construction, heavy industries, oil and gas, real estate, foods and beverages, chemicals, steel, aviation and more. In the year 2010 the company saw its annual revenue reach $248 billion, and employs over 350,000 people as of 2010.
The name Mitsubishi comes from two Japanese words. “Mitsu” which means “three”, and “bishi” meaning “rhombus”. The name is reflected in the company's current logo.
Mitsubishi Motors wasn't founded until 1970, and by 1980 it has reached an annual production figure of 1,000,000 units, before it had even been introduced into the US market, which didn't happen until 1982.
The motor company has a number of electric vehicles on the market, and in fact the company cut the price of these vehicles by $21900 before the end of 2012, aiming to make clean, renewable energy cars a more tangible option for consumers.