- The brand said it would stop making the Pajero SUV and shut down the plant in Japan
- The automaker will not pay a dividend this year to preserve cash
Mitsubishi Motors Corp today announced that it expects the second year of losses- this year’s primarily fuelled by the Coronavirus outbreak. This is Mitsubishi’s biggest recorded loss in the last 18 years.
As it expects an operating loss of 1.3 billion USD (year ending March 2021), the company stares at shrinking its workforce/production, and/or close unprofitable dealerships in the time to come.
Takeo Kato, Chief Executive, told reporters, “To pave the way to recovery, the top priority of all executives is to share a sense of crisis with employees to execute cost reductions.”
Mitsubishi, a member of the Nissan-Renault alliance, has also stated its intention to stop producing the Pajero SUV next year, and also close down the plant that makes the SUV in Japan. While it looks to shrink its presence in Europe and North America, there will be renewed interest in its growth in Asia.
For someone who grew up watching these Japs (read Mitsubishi/Nissan) flourish back in the day, it becomes increasingly difficult to watch such brands go cash-tight, and legendary nameplates go under the axe.
