MITSUBISHI Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) has appointed Shunichi Kihara as chief executive officer, effective January 5, 2026.

He succeeds Shaun Westcott, who resigned as president and CEO of MMAL in September after almost seven years with the company and serving in the CEO role from April 2020.

Yoshinori Yamazaki, also the division general manager of Oceania and North Asia division, was appointed the interim CEO.

Shunichi Kihara, MMAL chief executive officer

Mr Kihara currently serves as division general manager, global sales for MMAL parent company Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) where he oversees the global sales development division.

“I’m delighted to accept the position of CEO at MMAL and look forward to meeting you when I arrive in Australia,” he said.

“Mitsubishi Motors has been a strong and trusted brand in Australia for 45 years, and together we will build on that legacy to drive it into the future.”

MMAL chair John Signoriello said: “On behalf of the MMAL executive management team, we welcome Mr. Kihara’s experience and leadership.

“We are confident that he will play a critical role in realising our shared vision of long-term success of the Mitsubishi Motors brand in Australia.”