Mitsubishi Tries Realistic About Sales Amid Many Chinese Car Brand Raids

Rows of Mitsubishi cars. (Photo: Drive)

JAKARTA - Mitsubishi has admitted that in the short term it will not be able to maintain its sales position in the Australian market. Given, the penetration of Chinese brands is trying to become the top player in the Kangaroo Country.

Last year, Mitsubishi Australia was included in the top five brands, but until the end of September this year, the Japanese brand has not been able to maintain its sales rate like in 2024. As a result, sales decreased 16.4 percent to 47,650 units, forcing it to drop to sixth.

On the other hand, Mitsubishi Australia was forced to rule out three of its five models, namely ASX, Eclipse Cross, and Pajero Sport this year. This is due to new safety regulations requiring the installation of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) on all new vehicles.

At the same time, Chinese car brands such as GWM, BYD, and MG have all made bold promises to race up the sales ladder. Where, competing with brands like Kia, Hyundai, Mazda, and Ford.

All Chinese brands have also supported this claim with new products, and many more will come. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi has just launched a second-generation ASX, about six months after the first model was discontinued, while the next new product, Pajero Sport's successor, is still more than 12 months away.

"This situation means Mitsubishi will lose its market share and its ranking to competitors," General Manager of Mitsubishi Product Strategy Bruce Hampel told media Drive. He said he was trying to be realistic in sales.

"We expect a total industry volume drop of five percent year-on-year in this financial year, but what we are seeing is the number of migrants competing for that volume increasing," said Hampel, Wednesday, November 5.

Just a simple calculation, the market share of certain OEMs [original equipment producers] from established OEMs will decrease. We are realistic, it's just mathematics, our portion will decrease," he continued.

Currently behind Mitsubishi on sales charts are GWM and BYD, which have increased sales by 23.7 and 149.8 percent respectively so far this year. However, Mitsubishi plans to bounce back with a plan of 'Momentum 2030' which promises its newest models.

Hampel said Mitsubishi also needs to balance product supply at the right time, as well as strengthen existing customer bases to ensure sustainability.

By saying that, we also need to compete, we need its products. We are going through a transition period, leaving old products such as ASX, Pajero Sport, and Eclipse Cross, and are now starting to move progressively to next-generation Mitsubishi vehicles," said Hampel.

"We will focus on customer experience over the next 12 months, really strengthening the loyalty of the brand we have with our broad car fleet in the country, and the consumers we have."

Mitsubishi will also firmly not engage in price wars to reduce some of the aggressive actions of other competitors in the market. The manufacturer bearing the three diamonds will also focus on the main segments that have been its strongest base so far.

"With a longer view, which is a period of two to five years, to ensure the product portfolio will recover and grow beyond conditions 12 months ago," he concluded.