Mitsubishi is looking to cut costs by 20% over the next two years, and one of its strategies is to halt all new model launches in Europe indefinitely.
According to Autocar, the Japanese automaker will focus its resources on the South-East Asian market, where it holds a 6.4% market share, as opposed to just 1.0% in Europe and 0.9% in North America.
As a result, buyers in Europe or the UK will likely not be able to purchase the likes of the next-gen Mitsubishi L200 truck, Outlander SUV or Mirage supermini anymore. A Mitsubishi UK spokesman couldn’t say exactly for how long his company will shift its focus away from Europe, but did add that the situation is “evolving and changing rapidly.”
Read: Next-Gen Mitsubishi Outlander Will Debut In Early 2021, Go On Sale Shortly Thereafter
Still, for the time being, UK dealerships will still be selling current Mitsubishi models, he added.
By freezing out new models, Mitsubishi is pretty much allowing its current range to become non-compliant with new EU emissions regulations. This tells us that it might actually be willing to withdraw completely from the European market.
“We will shift our strategy from all-round expansion to selection and concentration. First of all, we will complete our structural reforms and further strengthen our competitive areas – ultimately to build a corporate structure that can surely generate profits during this mid-term period,” said Mitsubishi CEO Takao Kato.
In its home market of Japan, Mitsubishi plans to shift production of its Pajero SUV from Sakahogi to Okazaki, close certain unproductive dealerships and promote its sharing and subscription business.
