Just a few weeks after the shocking news of the slow end of the all-petrol Eva comes another, to say the least, disturbing news for fans of the three diamonds . The president of the company, Osamu Masuko , talked about the future of the brand and indicated that it lies mainly in SUVs .
But first, the Automotive News magazine, which conducted the interview, assured that Mitsubishi is not going to close its factories in the USA , despite the ever-declining sales. According to the brand's new marketing plan, called New Stage 2016 , the automaker wants to increase global sales by 29% to 1.43 million vehicles, and in North America alone, it plans to raise sales by a third to 150,000 cars a year .
Consolidation of positions in Mitsubishi's traditional stronghold, i.e. the segment of SUVs and pickup trucks, helps to do this. Another category where the car company wants to actively present itself is various alternative sources – the most talked about are electric and hybrid vehicles . We must not forget the alliance agreement with the Renault-Nissan concern , on the basis of which the automakers will jointly develop sedans, city cars and electric cars.
Part of the "consolidation plan" in the SUV segment is the new generation of the large Pajero , which will probably also look to the US. Masuko sees a chance for this model mainly due to the deployment of a plug-in hybrid powertrain . If the SUV section is relatively safe, then the sports car section is more than an endangered species.
Among the brand's best-selling models are off-road vehicles such as Pajero, Pajero Sport, Outlander or Outlander Sport ( in our case, ASX ), and according to Masuk, Mitsubishi must focus on exactly these models. He literally says: "we have to set our priorities," which clearly implies that sports models will not play a significant role. At the same time, however, Masuko indicated that sports cars could be created in cooperation with another car company.
Source: Automotive News
