TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to ask electronics giant Foxconn to produce its electric vehicles as part of efforts to cut production costs, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday, as the Taiwanese firm is seeking a foothold in the EV market amid competition with Chinese companies.

The Tokyo-based automaker is expected to announce its plan with Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., in the coming weeks at the earliest, the sources said.

Foxconn has been keen on partnerships with two other Japanese automakers -- Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. -- and attention is focused on how they will respond to the Taiwanese firm's move. Mitsubishi Motors is an alliance partner of Nissan.

Under the plan, Mitsubishi Motors, which has a strong presence in Southeast Asian markets, would sell Foxconn-produced cars under its own EV brand, though the specific models have yet to be finalized, the sources said.

Mitsubishi Motors will maintain its existing manufacturing bases while working with Foxconn to optimize its production capabilities, the sources said.

The deal is expected to shorten the development, production and delivery timeline while allowing the carmaker to allocate more funds to technology development by cutting production costs.

Mitsubishi Motors released a statement, saying the contents of the report were not issued by the company. "To achieve sustainable growth, we will continue to seek possible cooperation with a variety of partners," it said.

Mitsubishi Motors had considered joining recent merger talks between Nissan and Honda, which surfaced in December and collapsed in February.

Mitsubishi Motors later decided against joining, fearing a loss of autonomy, and instead pursued cooperation deals with other firms on EVs, including Foxconn.

It continues to hold talks with Honda and Nissan on EV software development.