Colt Car Company


The Colt Car Company Limited is a privately owned business established in 1974 as part of Mitsubishi Motors' global expansion programme for the purpose of importing and distributing cars and light commercial vehicles in the United Kingdom. For the first decade of its existence, British market Mitsubishis were sold under the "Colt" marque until the rebranding to Mitsubishi, which then brought the marque in line with the rest of the world.
Until 2008, it was a 51/49 joint venture between Colt Automotive Ltd and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. Three subsidiary companies exist: Spitalgate Dealer Services, which specialises in dealer wholesale stocking, Shogun Finance, the retail finance company and Shogun Retail, the retail operations company.

Sales since 1995

For the first twenty years of its existence, business was restricted by voluntary import quotas, which limited the company to around 10,000 sales per year. The relaxation of these quotas in 1996, together with the introduction of European-built models at the NedCar facility in Born which were unaffected by the quota, allowed for a rapid expansion in the late 1990s.
In 2008, David Blackburn retired his shareholding of the company and his stake was sold to the Mitsubishi Corporation, specifically to its subsidiary MC Automobile NV. As result, Colt Car Company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of MCAE.
YearTotal sales
1995c.12,000
1996c.17,700
1997c.23,800
1998c.23,500
1999c.20,600
200018,087
200122,133
200226,419
200332,882
200437,545
200537,812
200634,467
200730,953