Mitsubishi's China sales target this year even lower than 2003 record

Shanghai, December 4, (Gasgoo.com)-While other Japanese automakers like Toyota and Honda are making leaps forward in the Chinese market, Mitsubishi Motor is going backwards. The sales goal of 130,000 vehicles in China this year that Mitsubishi is struggling to reach is lower than its sales record in 2003.

 

Shinsuke Katsuragi, head of Mitsubishi's North Asia office told Wall Street Journal last month that the company's "near-term" sales goal in China is about 130,000 vehicles a year. This includes 20,000 imports from Japan and the remainder will be produced by joint ventures with Hunan Changfeng Motor Co and Southeast (Fujian) Motor Co.

 

In 2003, the company sold 145,235 vehicles here, up 206.1 percent from the previous year. But after the "bumper year", Mitsubishi failed to go further.

 

During the past four years, Mitsubishi added only two new car models to its lineup. Its most popular models--Pajero Sports and Outlander used to be produced locally at Beijing Benz's plant, a company that Mitsubishi has technical cooperation relations, but the production has been halted as the cooperation deal is due to expire soon.

 

"Our cooperation with Mitsubishi will be concluded by the end of this year," said Dong Changzheng, vice executive president of Beijing Benz told the Xinhua News Agency. And Mitsubishi will no longer to use Beijing Benz's sales network.

 

"We’re planning to increase the number of franchised dealers to 73 by the end of this year or early next year, and ten more dealers will be added in 2008," said Mitsubishi's Chairman Yorihiko Kojima. He explained that Mitsubishi has to add new products and expand the sales network to gain a bigger slice of the world's second largest auto market after several sluggish years.

 

Mitsubishi will import six new car models by early next year, the company announce at the 2007 Guangzhou Motor Show last month. These models include Outlander EX with 2.4L and 3.0L engines, and Pajero with an all new 3.8L MIVEC engine.