Mitsubishi: They’re Still In the Car Business, But For How Long?

Mitsubishi: A name you don’t hear often now unless you’re buying a television, and even those don’t seem to be particularly common anymore. Yet and still, Mitsubishi Motors is in the news this week due to a couple of interesting developments regarding the company's past and future. Today, on Adam’s Autos, let’s discover just what has generated this buzz about a company that once was a major powerhouse among foreign automotive companies.

Nissan Shows Some Love

Given the fact that Mitsubishi isn’t exactly the most profitable car company in the United States anymore and has some other issues to handle at the moment, you would think that hardly anyone would be willing to do business with them right now. However, that’s not necessarily the case. Nissan recently announced that they are purchasing a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors for 237 billion yen ($2.1 billion USD), which will make them the new top shareholder in the company. Both companies state that they have something to gain from this partnership, particularly in the Asian marketplace. They intend to share some vehicle platforms, technology, production facilities, and more. More specifically, Nissan could capitalize off of Mitsubishi’s popularity in places such as Indonesia, and Mitsubishi could gain from Nissan’s… Everything, since they need all the new momentum they can get, particularly in America if they plan to stay here. Nissan’s CVTs have gotten much better over time, so this is an example of just one area of where Mitsubishi could benefit from the new partnership. While no specific plans for new joint models have been announced for the United States, we’ll likely hear something eventually, and both companies have said they've had plans to build a new all-electric vehicle together for a little while now.

MORE Fuel Economy Scandals!

On the flipside of potential positive news for Mitsubishi, they’re now the latest company to get caught in a fuel economy scandal. What’s so surprising, is that these discrepancies in fuel economy appear to date all the way back to 1991! For now, it appears these falsified ratings currently just apply to some Japanese-market cars. But given that Hyundai/Kia had a similar issue in the United States just a few years back, and also VW group’s recent “diesel-gate” debacle, one can’t help but to raise questions as to whether or not some of Mitsubishi’s older U.S. models have been affected too. Ironically, two of the affected Japanese-market cars were branded as Nissans! Awkward… Mitsubishi Motors said that these inaccurate fuel economy measures were obtained by developing their own “high-speed costing tests” that gave far better results than ones mandated by the Japanese government. This story is still developing, and will likely involve probes into some of Mitsubishi’s U.S. operations, even though Mitsubishi says that none of their 2013-2017 model year vehicles should be affected. For now, all we can do is just see how things continue to unfold.

So what do you think about Mitsubishi? Will they ever regain relevance? Personally, the company always seems to take two steps forward and one step back to me. While some of their recently introduced and redesigned models have been better than their predecessors, they aren’t good enough to capture much attention. You can go months and not see a new (or old) Mitsubishi on the road! The Nissan business venture could help that, but only if people can see a market improvement in Mitsubishi’s operations and products. Additionally, they’ve discontinued three key cars that kept them relevant in the mind of buyers: The Eclipse, Galant, and more recently, the Lancer EVO! With no sporty flagship “halo” model or a solid midsize sedan entry, I don’t see how they can survive for very much longer in the U.S. market. They simply aren't competitive enough right now. However, time always tells all.

Here's some links to articles with more info on the Nissan-Mitsubishi business deal and Mitsubishi's fuel economy woes:

• http://blog.caranddriver.com/report-nissan-may-buy-a-controlling-stake-in-mitsubishi/
• http://blog.caranddriver.com/mitsubishi-admits-to-miscalculating-fuel-economy-since-1991/

Until we hear more, stay tuned, and ROLL ON!

The Eclipse and Galant were both discontinued after the 2012 model year, and the Lancer EVO will end production after 2016. This leaves Mitsubishi without a signature sporty model or a real competitor in the midsize sedan market. Seems like a HUGE uphill battle to regain relevance...