The future of Mitsubishi in the U.S.?

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by chryslersrt8

I remember when good Chrysler salespeople and managers were in strong demand by the import dealers when the import market got sluggish. Theory was Chrysler people were use to selling average or worse cars and, as a result, were perceived to be much better than the "order takers" that worked for the import stores.

I totally agree.

I remember back in the days when Hondas were so hot customers had to put deposits down so they could get a car from the next shipment. There's no question that a lot of the salespeople and managers at the Honda stores were nothing but high paid "order takers" who had no idea what to do when the supply/demand equation turned to the customer's favor.

The Chrysler guys just got used to the fact that the supply/demand equation was almost always in the customer's favor.

I remember an Assistant Zone Manager who used to comment "If we can built it we can bank it" and he was right. Even the hot cars like the PT Cruiser eventually turned cold and resulted in a glut of inventory.

Originally Posted by chryslersrt8

Mitsubishi has to come up with some "outside the box"thinking QUICKLY if they want to survive in U.S. Since new product isn't going to come flooding into the market they have to rethink marketing. This is local dealer specialty. I would venture to guess they don't have budget for big national market push so put dealer cash on product,give the dealers cash to advertise product, then get out of the way.

I agree and that's one of the primary reasons I don't think Mitsubishi has any plans to stay in the U.S. If Mitsubishi was serious about staying in the U.S. they'd hire a high horsepower Sales VP and engage their dealers in developing a marketing/incentive plan with Dealer Cash and Co-op advertising. That's not happening and there's nothing to suggest that Mitsubishi is doing to anything different then what they've been doing. It's just a slow death spiral.

[steve_biegler]

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...211851404.html

$69 lease on tiny Mitsu.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...211851404.html

$69 lease on tiny Mitsu.

That actually seems like a pretty good deal but the article mentioned the price is closer to $169/month once all of the fees are added in.

That price point also requires a $7,500 contribution from the taxpayers but given the U.S. Government is currently running a $100 Billion deficit per month that seems like the least of our problems.

On a final note, Mitsubishi only sold 77 iMiEVs last month - I don't think they can rely on this electric car to fix their problems.

[XDCX]

I noticed that Mitsubishi sold 4,659 units in January - down 1% from last year.

Given that the industry was up 14% in January it's clear that Mitsubishi continues to lose market share to their competitors. I'd also wonder what percentage of Mitsubishi's sales are to the rental fleets.

On the plus side, at least Mitsubishi managed to out-sell the Lincoln brand. Lincoln only sold 4,191 cars last month.

[twkrantz]

bump

whats good!

whats good with mitsu? They expanding or is Nissan helping these guys out?

[mryan55]

This thread goes back a while... back when I was just lurking on here. I don't have huge Mitsubishi connections but do watch things a little bit. Mitsu hast been posting huge MoM and YoY gains for 3-4 years, even before the Renault-Nissan alliance got involved. In August sales were 8,416 -- up quite a bit from these posts from 5 years ago.

The iMiEV was a major flop. When Ally became the 'captive' finance arm there was a bit of a lease on them, but not much interest.

I guess Mitsubishi is currently one of the bigger winners in the crossover craze. They currently have the Outlander Sport, Outlander, and the Eclipse Cross. Mirage is cheap and cheerful but not for a very popular segment these days. The new Lancers are probably all gone at this point, especially since it's been eradicated from the MMNA corporate site.

I like the underdog stories, so hopefully the Renault-Nissan alliance can help a little more in the yeas ahead. Right now I think that very little has come to Mitsubishi from that alliance.

[mryan55]

Not to mention they have sizable cash on the hood for a Japanese car... and relatively easy credit, especially with the might of Ally behind the branded financing.

[tnpartsguy]

The current Mirage G is a rebadged Nissan Versa sedan...