Mitsubishi's red ink dwindles
Isn't this a scary time in the auto business? When most of the big players report only on their ability to cut losses instead of make profits? Or how many workers they have successfully "reduced their workforce by" (read: let go)? That's the good news! Will we ever see a consistent return to profitability in the business of selling cars?
And so, we bring you yet another announcement about reduced losses. Aided by a weaker yen and increased sales in Japan and North America, Japan's troubled Mitsubishi Motors on Monday reported a narrower net loss of 16.1 billion yen ($137 million) for fiscal first-half of '06 compared to a loss of 63.8 billion yen ($544 million) during the same period in '05. Sticking to its forecast to return to profitability for the full fiscal year in 2007, the company also said on Monday that it would reduce its unit sales volume target down 86,000 vehicles to 1,322,000, reflecting expectations of fewer sales in parts of Asia, while sales are expected to increase in North American and Europe.
Can Mitsubishi return to profitability in 2007? They do have some decent new products in the market with more on the way. Only time will tell.
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
iQuack 7:16PM (10/31/2006)
Too bad about the ugly and useless wing on the back and other exaggerations shown on the 2007 Lancer pictured here--it seems that the Lancer will be a nice looking car for a change.
Previous Lancers have been dowdy-looking crap for so long that it's hard to imagine that there would ever be a well styled one.
The car pictured here, if stripped of the plastic added-on crap, is a competitive design IMO.
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WRC05 7:14PM (10/31/2006)
They can bounce back and they will. The most important car will be the new Lancer series. Can't wait for the Ralliart Lancer and Evo to be released. I hope they can return to profitability soon and start rally again in the WRC. Good luck!
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Mitsufan 7:50PM (10/31/2006)
While I have to say a 75% cut in red ink compared to last year is pretty good, red ink is red ink, and we can't let Mitsu off the hook.
However, if they bounce back to profit as promised (by April of 2007), they will have affected one of the most startling turnarounds in recent years. Nissan did a fantastic job of bouncing back, but they didn't have DaimlerChrysler pulling out of production deals and forcing them into non-selling trucks, and teeny-weeny U.S. market share.
Sure, MMC was lucky enough to have the Mitsubishi group pick them up and dust them off. But they aren't helping run the business now, save for (cash injection and) the upcoming diesel engine collaboration. Little do most folks know, the Mitsubishi Group of Companies is run as several individual companies, not one big happy family.
So anyway, despite an unhappy union with DaimlerChrylsler, an unhappier divorce (now Chrysler is the bad guy...hmmm....Maybe it's YOU, Daimler, not your partners.) and shoestring budgets, Mitsubishi is still coming up with unique, groundbreaking product (Outlander, i, new Lancer).
Call me sentimental, but I love to cheer for the little guy (cue Rocky theme).
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Chris 7:51PM (10/31/2006)
Bring a clean, reasonably priced Lancer/EVO to the market and they'll do just fine. As all automakers, ahem...Saturn Aura and Ford Mustang...do, the final product will look and perform much different than the prototype.
Let's just hope they can fix the rest of their line-up.
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Nathan Sweeney 8:06PM (10/31/2006)
Good for Mitsu, I hope they can return to profitability for 2007. More competition is great for the consumer!
One way to help, in my mind, is in addition to the Evo, bring us a decent Ralliart. Something with a more mildly turbocharged engine with AWD. Something to compete on the level of the WRX while the EVO takes on the WRX STi. And that dual clutch transmission like VW's DSG: Yeah, that will definitely help matters! (not being sarcastic here)
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retsel 8:11PM (10/31/2006)
i wish they made a evo lite...
all wheel drive
a locking differential
racing seats
a smaller turbo or supercharger
and the sheet metal above...
eill it for 19,000 and i woould get it...
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Steve S 11:13PM (11/01/2006)
The new outlander is good, the lancer, L ralliart and L evo look to be good as well. I would strongly encourage them to bringthe Sportback concept as well in a base, ralliart and evo trim and they would do just fine.
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pow 10:12PM (10/31/2006)
good luck to them, but I saw the upcoming Lariant in base model (you know the $16k one), and it did nt look at all as sharp as the concept
the angles seemed to have made way for curves and it seemed just as ugly as the current one - the only camo was around the front bumper, but the green house adn C pilar were not camoed at all
what a shame as the concept is perfect
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RZ 10:09PM (10/31/2006)
Wow if this a great looking car, look at the front headlights, the fron of the car is gourgeous. If this is a car that will replace the old Lancer than i believe Mitsu is on a right trak. Current Lancer is but ugly, i mean what is it, a car from early 90's or something, but this one looks great.
This is simply a gourgeous car, i mean look at the side mirrors, so thin and small, look at the hole in the hood, and the front headlights are great looking.
There's a lesson in here, PRODUCT BASED turnaround is the only way to go, not selling one car under 10 different names ala GM.
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irieblue 12:58PM (11/01/2006)
The current EVO 8/9 is the type of car I wish I could have afforded when I was in my 20's, now that I am twice that with the excess cash flow to purchase an RS4, the EVO with it's huge wing screams boy racer and mid life crisis and is not for me.
As some one who was aware of the EVO from it's days as the lancer III, I am well aware that the wing is good for 100 lbs of downforce at 100 Mph, if iQuack thinks 100 lbs of downforce is "useless" , well, I've got some beach front property in Arizona you might be interested in, or I'm ready to bet with Stefan vs you over PCH in a wingless EVO.
While the Audi RS4 is something I would be tempted to purchase, I am waiting for the EVO X, Ralliant whatever Mitsibishi wants to call it. Hopefully the Japanese/Mitsubishi USA will get a fucking clue and realize that times have changed and they need to appeal to the Audi RS4/BMW M3/M5 crowd, vs the LA LA land dweebs...
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Andy 3:02AM (11/01/2006)
This is only a small part of a bigger picture. Mitsubishi could have a couple of profitable fiscal years, but that doesn't mean it will prevent it from going bankrupt. Mitsubishi has been making steady improvements. The Concept X (the future Evo X) is much cooler aesthetically than the WRX. The Concept X is the only Mitsu I could ever salivate over. Make that baby an M3-killer and Mitsu will be back on the map.
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Kenn 3:25AM (11/01/2006)
It’s good news to hear that Mitsu is coming out of the Red.
In Aus Mitsu sales have been improving all the new models have started to increase sales, 380 (Aus Galant) Sales have been slow, but the Triton tuck sales have been very strong. The new Pajero and the Outlander has just been released and the first indications look promising. The face lifted colt line seem to be promising. Mitsu have to continue with good affordable new model.
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Rilwan Kujenya 5:17PM (11/01/2006)
I don't think Mitsubishi makes bad cars at all. My mom bought a brand new Eclipse Spider today, And I got to test drive an EVO today. By the way, the Evo is the coolest car ever. Anyways, my point is that Mitsubishi doesn't sell bad cars at all, maybe the reason why their sales aren't picking up as well is becuase they are not sell their cars right. (I am no expert) But maybe, just maybe, if Mitsubishi were to hire some younger, more innovative thinkers to market their cars, maybe they might sell more. If they can hire more Engineers that really build cars to sell, instead of cars to compare. I'm really loving Mitsubishi right now, I spent the whole day at the dealer, but in recent times the idea of In-Your-Face competition between automakers have seemed to disappear. Like GM, (I like GM), they have wonderful models, but me, personally, I think they just don't know how to sell their cars. Have you seen any American Car Commercials lately, have your ever seen a Chevy commercial recently; it's Appalling. It's like their commercials are trying to make you not buy the car. It's even the pricing too. C'mon for a domestic, it should be much cheaper than what I would pay for an import, But why? Why, would I go out and buy a Malibu for $34,000, when I could go get a Camry that's much better for about the same price. Note the fact that the Camry is better, and it travelled thousands of dollars to get here. If automakers want to sell now-a-days, they have to use some hardcore marketing skills, better engineering, and they would have to price competitavely. If I went out to go buy a Caddy CTS for the same MSRP price as a BMW 3, I think I'd pick the smarter choice: The 3-series. Noted that a 3-series has way better stuff, and travelled thousands of dollars to get here. So GM(Cadillac's) solution to this predicament is to sell me a luxury car that cost much less MSRP than a 3-series. It's a simple logic. How do you think retial stores like Payless would make just as much money as a Footlocker. Payless sells a multitude of cheap shoes, the other store, Footlocker sells not as many as Payless, but they sell expensive shoes. It's a simple logic. All you have to know is that if money needs to be made; you gotta know your options, your loopholes, you got bring war tactics forth to the table, and you gotta think outside the box. As for Mitsubishi, if they want to sell, they gotta learn how to play aggressively in the game. I want the see commercials, that can get me out of my seat to dealer to a dealer (or the closest computer, so I can check out their website), or make me stop to see it as I'm flicking through channels, or have me singing along to them, like how many european car commercials do. I wanna go to a Mitsubishi dealer, and have me talk to sales spokesmen who actually know about the car. I want to go to a dealership, and have salesperson sell me the car; he gotta make me buy it. That's the aggressiveness a car company needs, in order to sell cars...
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