Should Mitsubishi and Suzuki say sayonara to America?
Considering their diminutive and dwindling degree of market share in the U.S., should Suzuki and Mitsubishi say sayonara to America and concentrate their efforts elsewhere? That's what some industry analysts are recommending. Says Yuuki Sakurai of Fukoku Capital Management,
"It's time for them to decide whether they pay a high price to continue business there or stop the bleeding,"His fellow auto analyst over at Okasan Securities, Yasuaki Iwamoto, agrees and says they should just forget about America and that Suzuki, in particular, should devote its resources to the small cars that have had good success in other markets. So, are they listening?
It appears not. Suzuki, for their part, will likely release the mid-size Kazashi next year and continue their collaboration on green tech with GM. They would also seem to be betting that, as the price of gas rises, Americans may be willing to spend more time and money in their showrooms. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi's president Osamu Masuko is confident that the American market will rebound and has made his company's intentions clear stating, "We will never give up the U.S. market," It would seem they are pinning a lot of their U.S. hopes on the global version of the all-electric i MiEV since that is the only new model on the horizon. That could prove to be problematic since it remains to be seen how popular a tiny "kei-class" car like the iMiEV will be in the US market and profitability and prices of EVs will be extremely challenging.
Gallery: Mitsubishi Global i MiEV prototype
[Source: Bloomberg via Autoblog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kevin 8:23PM (7/12/2009)
Mitsubishi may as well pack up and go home! Every time something on my 3000GT breaks or wears out, it's the same damn story: part obsolete-no longer available. Lucky for me, the car uses enough common parts that they can be rebuilt or something else can be substituted.
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tanooki2003 8:56AM (7/13/2009)
Ok seriously that has to be the most moronic form of logic used to question the future stay of Mitsubishi. Your car is 10+ years old and is obsolete, get over it seriously.
By the way I have the VR4 version of the 3000 GT and I don't seem to have as many problems as you when it comes to replacing needed parts since the 3000GT was also rebadged under Dodge as the Stealth.
If you did your research you wouldn't have any problems and using that poor lame reason for Mitsubishi to stay.
Mike!!ekiM 8:34PM (7/13/2009)
A 10 year old car should have parts available.
They need to stay in the US, how else are we to get the iMiev.
polo 9:43PM (7/12/2009)
It makes perfect sense for Mitsubishi to exit the US market just as every other automaker is prepping plug-ins for the US and Mitsubishi is has positioned its EV to be one of the first to market. Its not like these same analysts are driving up gas prices by telling the hedge funds China's oil consumption is going to skyrocket over the next 5 years - which, if true, would make EVs and small cars a very hot commodity just when Mitsubishi forecast they could sell the Imev for half its initial price. Perfect sense.
As for Suzuki...why don't they bring some of their small cars over here. Wasn't Fiat hailed as such a great partner for Chrysler specifically because of their small car lineup they could bring to the US? Suzuki should follow their lead.
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wave54 3:23PM (7/13/2009)
I doubt that the i-MiEV alone, especially in the relatively small quantities that they can import to the US, is enough to be their savior without other new product.
Let's face it -- none of us here knows the true financial picture of Mitsubishi in the States and what it costs just to keep the lights on at their many dealerships nationwide.
It might almost be easier to be a start-up in the American market than to try to keep thousands of employees happy while sales tank. By comparison, Tesla has it easy with just a few "stores".
Yanquetino 10:41PM (7/12/2009)
I can say this much: EV advocates in this country would be furious if Mitsubishi pulled out of the U.S. market. I hope that Osamu Masuko hangs tough!
Is it mere coincidence that such "advice" would be posted right when the i-MiEV goes into commercial production? I smell the stench of oil behind this kind of arm-twisting, and can't help but wonder exactly whose "capital" Fukoku "manages."
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CaramelZappa 12:01AM (7/13/2009)
I think it would be a huge mistake for them to pull out of the US market. Bad for them, and bad for us. Competitions is good for everyone.
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John Rowell 12:18AM (7/13/2009)
I think it would be a grave mistake if they were to leave the US. Both companies have a strong foothold here despite their small market share, and if they bring something novel to the table, like an EV, they have the potential to do some serious business in the US. And it's not like they're doing poorly here wither - I see Suzuki cars on the road nearly every day, and I'm not even looking for them.
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Brent 1:03AM (7/13/2009)
Mitsubishi just need to advertise, no one knows there is an EV for sale.
ADVERTIZE
Suzuki more than likely won't ever get the sales which they need to stick in the US, unless they outdo some competition in a big way.
Mitsubishi Good Luck
Suzuki Good bye
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fred 11:18PM (7/13/2009)
i think mjtso has priced them selves out of the us market similar to nissan but the suziki has a great opertunity here
now that jeep and crysler has been set back for a while thye are positioned to be the inexpensive 4x4 of teh us future, i don't think they will ever see gm ford level of distrobution but they dont have to, infact gm and ford aren't seeing that eitherlvl any more.
the suzuki i drive has incredable value for the money,
what other small suv offers this
v6
4x4 with low range
esp
atnilock
keyless ignition
5 speed auto
3 year bumper to bumper
7 year power train
warranties
and cost less than 21000$
the biggest problem for suzuki is that they dont get very good gas milage out of anything larger than the sx4
if they put a 2 wheel hi transfer case in a grand vitara it would probly get another 4 mpg
or they could make it a hybrid
either way i think most of the car companies are taking a hit because people see that the hybrid cars offered aren't the4 real future, and ethanol is not the future every one knows hydrogen is the future we are told about and if thier car is ok for now they will wait as long as they can to not be the early adapter of the losing technology. the problem is that hydrogen can only be the true solution to our problem when most of our electric is not coming from fossil fuel and when hydrogen is not coming form fossil fuel right now most hydrogen is coming from oil which is wastefull for general use, and electroisis of water will probly mean we will have to double our electrical production.
if we would have taken the trillion dollars in bail out and stimulus and used it to build trasmission lines and 100square miles of solar power plants in the south west we would have a stronger economy and solved out conversion of power source problem.
Throwback 8:49AM (7/13/2009)
Mitsu has more of a chance to be successful here. They have at least one desirable car Lancer/EVO with which to build on plus they are owned by a large Industrial company. Suzuki's US cars are simply uncompetitive. Their better small cars in Europe can't be sold here at a profit unless they build them in Mexico, which would require a new plant. Suzuki occupies the same position in the US as Isuzu, not enough people car about their products.
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mapoftazifosho 9:41AM (7/13/2009)
You guys look at things, strictly from a product perspective, and you are blinded by that. Consumer awareness is key to selling vehicles and these brands are not on the average consumer's radar. They should leave the US market...
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Nick P. 10:24AM (7/13/2009)
What Mitsu is trying to do is find a way to assemble EV cars in the US. This way, they avoid the import taxes and having to transport them by boat all the way from Japan.
It's funny how EVs are seen as a solution of last resort for struggling car companies. They only consider them when it's too late and they no longer have enough cash to produce them.
This will benefit Tesla as no one else has the guts to do pure EVs and sell them to the public. I'd rather wait for a pure EV than buy another hybrid with a range extender.
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sf_explorer05 6:19PM (7/13/2009)
"Sayonara" in the Japanese katakana syllabary/alphabet is spelled "sa-yo-u-na-ra" instead of "sa-yo-na-ra" as it appears in the picture header. ;-} As for Mitsubishi and Suzuki themselves, they're suffering the same problem American car manufacturers have had in Japan: producing vehicles that aren't terribly relevant to the local market and thus get rejected. (Trade barriers against foreign manufacturers in Japan don't help either, but that's a different topic...)
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Domenick Yoney 7:55AM (7/14/2009)
I checked with my in-house Japanese expert who assured me that using hiragana as spelled above is acceptable. It was pointed out that a "u" could be added and is the more "formal"(for lack of a better term) way. I've noticed myself that the "u" is often added to many words, such as "a ri ga to u" but both spellings are considered acceptable.
Snoopy 11:56PM (7/13/2009)
I hope Canada isn't included in this thought.
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kent025 3:18PM (7/24/2009)
i hope neither leave we have a mits. mirage and a suzuki forenza both do really good on the highway but the mirage gets like 5mpg more than the forenza. i think suzuki should pull out the forenza and reno and aerio again with at least 31mpg. For mitsubishi y dont they stop making the lancer not the evo they have to make twice as many headlights, tailights, doors, mirrors etc. that may would help saving money. Suzuki should stop waiting for a invatation and bring out the swift.
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