Mitsubishi Motors North America has filed a federal lawsuit against KarMART Mitsubishi in Burlington, WA, alleging the dealership breached its contract by failing to comply with the automaker’s Visual Identity Program and improperly sharing its service area with a neighboring Volkswagen franchise.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 20 -- the same day the dealership’s compliance deadline expired – and first reported by Auto News, claims KarMART Mitsubishi disregarded the brand’s mandatory Visual Identity Program, which requires all dealerships to adopt uniform branding, signage and design elements to maintain a consistent Mitsubishi appearance nationwide. According to the automaker, the dealership was warned in November to enroll in the program, but failed to do so.
Beyond signage issues, Mitsubishi also alleges KarMART Mitsubishi has been diverting vehicles from its service department to the adjacent KarMART VW service center, a move the automaker says violates its agreement. The dealership had previously been allowed to share service space with a now-closed Suzuki dealership, but the arrangement did not extend to Volkswagen, according to the lawsuit. Mitsubishi argues this setup causes confusion and compromises its brand integrity.
Mitsubishi Motors North America “has been forced to seek judicial intervention to protect the integrity of its brand and, more importantly, to protect the public from confusion,” the automaker stated in the lawsuit.
The dealership has not publicly responded to the allegations or the legal action.
