Mitsubishi Motors to see Japan sales fall -Nikkei

TOKYO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T: Quote, Profile, Research) is expected to forecast that its sales of cars in Japan will fall about 10 percent in the next year due to sluggish demand, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.

Mitsubishi Motors will likely set an annual domestic sales target of slightly more than 200,000 units for its new three-year business plan starting from April, the newspaper said. It is due to announce the plan on Feb. 29.

That would mark a fall of about 10 percent from the 230,000 units Mitsubishi Motors is expected to sell this business year ending on March 31, which itself would fall short of its target of 250,000 cars a year, the newspaper said.

Mitsubishi Motors will aim to make its domestic operations profitable by the year to March 2011.

To that end, the car maker will shrink its domestic network of nearly 800 dealership by 100-150 over the next three years through consolidation and closures, the paper said.