Mitsubishi CEO Takao Kato recently outlined his company’s new strategy, saying the automaker will move forward with less focus on huge global markets where the brand is not particularly strong.
Despite U.S. sales growth, Mitsubishi is likely to reduce its efforts in the U.S. market. Instead, the Japanese manufacturer will continue to concentrate its efforts in regions where it has a steady dynamic, especially in Southeast Asia and Oceania. He also plans to develop more GPUs, SUVs and vans for these markets because of their popularity.
In essence, the alliance will work as follows: Nissan will be a leader in North America, Renault in Europe and Mitsubishi in these aforementioned regions.
“Despite the fact that we have increased sales in megastores, we have not yet reached the expected level of profit. We strive to increase sales in regions where we can offer our main products. We will gradually reduce our commitment to mega-markets, ”Kato said.
In the fiscal year that ended in March, Mitsubishi sales in North America fell 8% to 160,000 units, and in Europe 9% to 215,000. Despite the fact that the figures in Southeast Asia also decreased by 9 %, the automaker still topped the regional ranking with 290,000 cars. For the United States, Mitsubishi sales rose an impressive 2.5% last year to 121,446 units, including the popular Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV crossover.
However, this is less than the number of Tesla cars sold in 2019. Retention of the current lineup, including the obsolete but very affordable Mitsubishi Mirage sedan and hatchback, is unlikely to continue under the new plan. Crossovers are likely to remain, and the next Outlander may be powered by a Nissan engine. By March 31, 2022, Mitsubishi intends to cut global spending by 20%, and most of the cuts will come from America and Europe.
