Brands Set to Disappear in 2014 #9 Mitsubishi Motors

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Plankton

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
45
Please someone tell me this is BS

While it never had a massive presence in the United States, the niche Japanese automaker has had some success with models like the Lancer and the Eclipse. However, Mitsubishi will soon exit the U.S. market, just as its Japanese rival, American Suzuki Motor Corp., did at the end of last year. Its sales are nose diving. In 2012, Mitsubishi sold fewer than 60,000 units in the United States, down from nearly 80,000 in 2011. That decline was the biggest of any auto brand and has continued this year. In the first four months of the year, sales have fallen by 6.5% to just 20,571 vehicles. The U.S. market share of Mitsubishi was only 0.3% in April. Mitsubishi does not have the advantages of some other companies with low market shares -- it is not a luxury car company like Porsche or Land Rover. The average price for Mitsubishi's seven models is under $25,000. One of the company's weaknesses is this small model lineup. Mitsubishi is further hampered by the public's perception of its products. In the new J.D. Power vehicle dependability survey, it ranked third from last out of 33 brands.

Source: http://www.walletpop.ca/gallery/slideshow-brands-that-disappear-in-2013/5916585/
 
Glad I got this cool little cost effective EV while I could! Seems like the company came out a bit worse for the wear after the '08 downturn...

I can't understand why MM doesn't go for more daring advertising and brand itself better. Sometimes focus groups make a company "bland" itself rather than "brand" itself.
 
Seems like people are hoping Mitsubishi will disappear, but I doubt it, especially with the Outlander PHEV set to hit North American shores early in 2014. It's the first plug-in electric suv and it's already 14,000 vehicles short of orders in Norway and Japan.
 
Stock exchange, casinos and the weather report do have a lot in common and mostly use the same software to predict the future.

I did it myself but my software was so successful in predicting bingo numbers that I never spent the money on the lottery.

Sometimes bankers can be very successfully burning other peoples money and still make a living of it until one day they fail so heroically that you would not even ask them about the weather again.

How about Tesla? They failed to go chapter 11 and even paid their money back. Elon Musk was never good in business rituals or he would not have started an electric car business in the first place. So why should he go bankrupt when everybody else does?

On the other hand Mitsu, they built an electric car in the first place so they are not easily predictable. It is the predictable companies that get lost in history, even big ones. Whatever happened to the Hudson Bay Company?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson's_Bay_Company

How about Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler? They are big and they are predictable.
 
I read an article a few years back about how Mitsubishi was trying to move "upmarket" in the US because their "average" customer was one with very poor credit. Interesting how a company who is part of a giant Japanese conglomerate which includes a very, very large bank deals with poor credit risk customers.

It may be because they had nothing to sell upscale.

I even read somewhere that Mitsubishi Bank keeps them around as a write-off. (Seems unlikely.)

Think a few years ago with the Diamante. That was their flagship. Now, I see them running around here dented, scratched, and burning oil. I would like to say the Diamante is the exception, but I see a lot of various ICE Mitsubishi vehicles around here in similar condition. The SUVs, in particular, seem the be ones burning a tremendous amount of oil.

Mitsubishi has to do something to repair their reputation, or just rebrand the entire Mitsubishi Motor Corporation and start over. They have a decent vehicle in the i-MiEV internationally. If they can make a more appealing car for the US (e.g., larger, longer range, possibly a range extender?), that will help improve acceptance here.

Mitsubishi has to bet the farm. Nissan has with the LEAF and it paid off. If Mitsubishi does the same, making electric and range-extended vehicles globally on the same platform, they have at least some chance of succeeding. They need something to differentiate themselves from the other global car makers.
 
aarond12 said:
Mitsubishi has to do something to repair their reputation, or just rebrand the entire Mitsubishi Motor Corporation and start over. They have a decent vehicle in the i-MiEV internationally. If they can make a more appealing car for the US (e.g., larger, longer range, possibly a range extender?), that will help improve acceptance here.

Mitsubishi has to bet the farm. Nissan has with the LEAF and it paid off. If Mitsubishi does the same, making electric and range-extended vehicles globally on the same platform, they have at least some chance of succeeding. They need something to differentiate themselves from the other global car makers.

You haven't heard of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV? http://www.hybridcars.com/mitsubishi-reveals-more-info-on-its-outlander-phev/
 
MLucas said:
You haven't heard of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?
Yes, I have. :roll: That vehicle is exactly my point. A larger vehicle for US customers. Hopefully it will be of better quality than their previous SUVs and cars. Mitsubishi hasn't had the best track record of longevity in ICEs.
 
If Mitsubishi does disappear where does that leave us for warranty work? Will they assign dealerships for warranty and repair or are we left hanging? What are Suzuki customers doing now?
 
Seems to me everything hinges on the Outlander PHEV - Mitsu appears to be treading water until that's ready to bring to the U.S., so I don't expect they'll throw in the towel before then.

Looking at the PHEV competition in the U.S., the Outlander will be alone in offering 4WD and the most cargo and passenger space. We can't be sure how they'll price it, or of comparative EV range and efficiency until they get through EPA testing, but if they're in the ballpark of the Volt on EV range and price, and there's any market for PHEVs left (depending on government incentives and fuel prices), all those virtues may be enough to overcome the skepticism that burdens the brand. I know I'll be giving it a long look.

But if the Outlander PHEV is a bust for whatever reason, yeah, they're toast. And if it comes to that, given the long history between the companies, I'd suggest the logical choice for taking over service in the U.S. would probably be Fiat-Chrysler. Their more experienced mechanics have seen a lot of Mitsubishi cars and engines.
 
Have been busy as of late and haven't looked at the board in a couple of months.
My wife works for Roger Beasly Imports and they just finish building a Mitsu showroom. I would find it hard to believe that Roger who is notoriously connected with Mazda, Hyundai, Subaru, Audi, Porsche, Volvo, Ferrari and others would have continued to flatten ground, build a shell and finish out a building for a manufacture who was going to pull out of the US ...
 
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