Automaker Mitsubishi Motors is aiming to end production in Europe by 2013, Japanese media reported on Monday, as it shifts focus to emerging economies.     

The firm has been making its Colt subcompact car and Outlander sports utility vehicle at a factory in the Netherlands, but it will enter negotiations with workers and the Dutch government to end that, the Nikkei business daily said, without citing sources     

Output from the plant, operated as Netherlands Car, or NedCar, has been sharply under its capacity of 200,000 autos a year, contributing to an 11.4 billion yen ($148.85 million) April-December operating loss in Europe for Mitsubishi Motors, the Nikkei added.     

A spokesman for the company said the carmaker has been exploring various strategies for the future of Nedcar, although nothing has been decided so far.     

Industry watchers have long expected Mitsubishi Motors to end production at the facility, which employs roughly 1,500 people.     

The firm has shifted its focus towards emerging markets, including building a new factory in Thailand and entering production tie-ups with automakers in countries such as Russia, the Nikkei said. - Reuters