AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/27 Report--

On April 25, Mitsubishi Motors issued a confirmation notice of non-operating expenses and special losses. Mitsubishi Motors said that GAC-Mitsubishi Motor Co., Ltd. launched the new Euroland in December 2022, but sales targets continued to fall short as competition in the Chinese market intensified. as a result, it is expected to include an abnormal loss of 22.6 billion yen in its consolidated results for the fiscal year 2022, including 12.1 billion yen in non-operating expenses and a special loss of 10.5 billion yen (544 million yuan).

In addition, Mitsubishi Motors has stopped production of new cars at its plant in Changsha, Hunan Province, due to persistent sluggish sales, and is expected to resume production in June, according to Nikkei Chinese website.

According to production and sales data disclosed by Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "GAC GROUP"), GAC-Mitsubishi sold a total of 3969 vehicles in the first quarter of 2023, down 57.95% from the same period last year. Specific models, the new Europe Rand cumulative sales of 3689, Artuco for 169, Yige, Jinxuan respectively for 90, 21.

GAC-Mitsubishi itself is small, the product is single, and its own channel layout is also limited. In the face of the market after the impact of the epidemic, it did not seize the opportunity to rebound. At the same time, its product power and brand strength are between the first-line joint venture brand and the head independent brand, and the position is somewhat awkward in the current highly competitive market environment.

Looking back on the wasted years of Mitsubishi in China, Mitsubishi has been unable to establish a close and stable joint venture relationship in China, causing it to miss the development opportunity to cultivate the Chinese market. In 1995, Mitsubishi started cooperation with Changfeng to launch models in China in the form of technology transfer. In 2004, Mitsubishi partnered with BAIC to establish Beijing Mitsubishi, but sales were dismal. In 2006, Mitsubishi transferred to Fuqi, holding shares with Yulong and Fuqi, handing over the R & D, manufacturing, sales and after-sales business of imported Mitsubishi cars to Southeast Automobile. Southeast Motor has won the support of Mitsubishi vehicle manufacturing research and development, including Goran, Lancer, Yeshen, Junge, Fengdisi and other products, while Southeast Motor has independently developed Ling Shuai, Ling Gentry, Lingli and other models based on Mitsubishi Motors. Under the influence of products and word-of-mouth, Southeast Motor reached an all-time peak in 2013, with annual sales of 116000 vehicles.

However, Mitsubishi, which has only a 25 per cent stake, has repeatedly hoped to increase its stake in Southeast Motor. In 2010, after seeking to improve the stock ratio, Mitsubishi reached a partnership with GAC to set up GAC-Mitsubishi Automobile Co., Ltd. since then, Mitsubishi has not introduced new models to Southeast Mitsubishi, but has focused on GAC-Mitsubishi. After the establishment of the new joint venture, GAC-Mitsubishi will focus on the development of SUV, but only introduce Orande, Jinxuan and other models.

According to the data, sales from 2019 to 2021 were 133016, 75001 and 66006 respectively, down 7.64%, 43.62% and 11.99% respectively from the same period last year. After entering 2022, the situation of GAC-Mitsubishi is even more critical, with annual sales of 33600 vehicles, down 49.13% from the same period last year.

In March 2022, Atuco officially went on sale with a price range of 19.98-229800 yuan. The new car is the first pure electric SUV under GAC-Mitsubishi. However, like many joint venture pure trams, the market performance of the Atuco has remained sluggish since its launch, with only 631 of the model sold in 2022.

In December 2022, the new Euroland was officially listed with a price range of 16.98-229800 yuan. It is understood that the third generation of Euroland is based on Nissan Qijun's CMF platform, using 1.5T four-cylinder engine + 48V light hybrid power, matching CVT gearbox. After the listing, the new Outlander has indeed become the sales leader of GAC-Mitsubishi, but compared with the same level of models such as CR-V and RAV4 Rongfang, Olander is even less than a fraction.

Japanese brands such as Honda and Toyota have successively established stable cooperative relations with two local automobile groups, making use of local resources to accelerate the development of the Chinese market, while Mitsubishi has been changing joint venture partners in China since the 1990s due to factors such as joint venture stock ratio. It was not until the cooperation with Guangzhou Automobile that it was temporarily stable, but it also missed many opportunities to dig deep into the Chinese market and continue to build brand influence.

On March 22, GAC-Mitsubishi officials responded to the news that "Mitsubishi will withdraw from the Chinese market" and said: GAC-Mitsubishi is operating normally, Mitsubishi is not withdrawing, and the factory is operating normally. Earlier, it was reported that the joint venture brand GAC-Mitsubishi would sell the Changsha plant to produce GAC-Ean electric cars, and that the Mitsubishi brand might withdraw from the Chinese market. GAC-Mitsubishi said: this is false news, the enterprise is operating normally.

Although GAC-Mitsubishi denies withdrawing from the Chinese market, judging from its performance in the current market, what if it does not quit? According to data released by GAC GROUP, as of June 30, 2022, GAC-Mitsubishi has total assets of 8.132 billion yuan, total liabilities of 6.574 billion yuan, asset-liability ratio of 81%, and is about to face the risk of insolvency.

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