Mitsubishi has announced that it will withdraw from the European model line at the end of its life cycle. It froze the development of European specifications for other cars, including the Outlander SUV, which was to be released next year. It is not yet known how long the three-year-old Eclipse Cross and the recently upgraded Space Star, ASX and L200 models will be sold.
After Saab, Lancia and Chevrolet’s brief engagement, another distinctive brand will leave the old continent. Mitsubishi began exporting cars to Europe in 1975, with the Czech Republic gaining the strongest awareness in the 1990s.
The large Galant and Sigma sedans were then popular cars for successful entrepreneurs, the Pajero was an off-road legend and the Lancer Evo reigned the rally. In recent history, Mitsubishi has been a pioneer in electric and hybrid propulsion with the i-MIEV and Outlander PHEV.
The report comes after four years of continuous growth in sales and market share, which, however, has consistently been below 1%. In 2019, Mitsubishi sold 144,670 cars in Europe, ranking third among Japanese brands from the end after Subaru (32,300) and Honda (123,280). Globally, the brand sold 1.2 million cars last year.
However, a quarter of them traveled to Southeast Asia. That’s why Nissan joined Mitsubishi four years ago to strengthen this important market. However, the area has recently been hit significantly by cooling Chinese demand and Mitsubishi has run into problems. From last spring to this spring, profits fell by 89% and were immediately hit by coronavirus. This year, the company expects a loss of $ 1.33 billion and wants to reduce costs by 20% within two years.
Automobilka ve published presentation emphasizes the focus on the dominant region of South-East Asia, which is the most profitable for it. Less profitable activities will be dampened. At the same time, it is worth noting that Mitsubishi does not withdraw from the USA, where it sells even fewer cars than in Europe.
This discrepancy suggests that decisions were also motivated by conflicting European CO2 limits. These force all manufacturers to sell a significant number of electric cars in the coming years, although their prices, according to current assumptions, will not match conventional propulsion in four or five years. The losses will be borne by the carmakers themselves, and Mitsubishi Motors cannot afford it right now.
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