At its introduction, it was regarded as a luxury Mitsubishi Colt 1000, as the Mitsubishi Galant would not be introduced until 1969, and was the largest sedan Mitsubishi had built to date. In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called the Galant Shop starting in 1969 with the introduction of the Mitsubishi Galant. At the time of the Debonair's introduction, Mitsubishi had a market reputation of building small, economical sedans, letting other manufacturers build larger, more expensive sedans. The Debonair was seen as a special purpose vehicle, and not marketed towards the general motoring public. Production began in time for the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo in October 1964. Mitsubishi had earlier used this approach to build an exclusive vehicle for senior members of Mitsubishi, with the first vehicle built by Mitsubishi, called the Mitsubishi Model A.