MMNA was formed in 1981 after tensions arose between Mitsubishi and its then U.S. import partner, the Chrysler Corporation, over conflicts in the international subcompact market, leading the ambitious Japanese company to establish its own sales network.

[3] The Diamond-Star Motors joint venture with Chrysler in Normal, Illinois, began in 1985, as American-built cars would not be subject to the same restrictive quotas as vehicles imported from Japan.

With this new capacity, Mitsubishi made a fresh push to expand its U.S. operation in 1989, increasing its sales network by 40 percent to 340 dealerships and producing its first nationwide advertising campaign.

It bought Chrysler's share of Diamond-Star for $100 million, and became the first Japanese owner of a U.S. car rental agency when it purchased Value Rent-a-Car[5] Sales of Mitsubishi-badged vehicles reached almost 190,000.

While its global operations were suffering in the wake of the 1997 East Asian financial crisis, MMNA reported banner results, breaking its sales records every year between 1999 and 2002 and seeing growth of 81 percent to 345,000 vehicles, while the company improved its position in Harbour and Associates' Assembly Productivity Ranking from last to first.

A new Lancer compact car debuted in 2007,[13] and in an effort to exploit unused capacity at its Normal, Illinois, plant more Galant sedans were produced for the export market.

[17][18] In July, MMNA announced that they would be closing their sole North American production facility in Normal, Illinois, known Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America which built the Outlander Sport model, to focus more on the growing Asian market.

[22] On June 25, 2019, Mitsubishi Motors announced it would be moving its North American headquarters from Cypress, California, to Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville.

[24] On March 9, 2022, Mark Chaffin named president and chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Motors North America, replacing Yoichi Yokozawa.

Then, in April 1996 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a class action suit on behalf of approximately 300 other women who worked at the plant.