Mitsubishi Cuts US Production Due To Soft Sales

The American motoring public has some misperctions about the Japanese automotive industry. Certainly, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are the leaders of the pack, companies worth emulating whether you are GM, BMW, or Hyundai. On the other hand, several smaller automakers are flying (or driving) below the radar including Suzuki, Daihatsu, and Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi got its toehold in the US marketplace thanks to its early relationship with Chrysler. Back during the 1970s and 1980s when Chrysler was building almost nothing but big cars, Mitsubishi models were sandwiched into the company’s line up as Plymouth Sapporo or Dodge Colt. Later, when Mitsubishi announced that they wanted to market cars in the US under their own name, a bunch of new models started to appear including the Galant, Cordia, and the Eclipse.

Eventually, Mitsubishi opened its own factory in the US and began to churn out vehicles, most recently the Galant sedan and the Endeavor SUV. Though the Normal, IL plant has the capacity to produce 110,000 vehicles annually, most recent annual production has been set at 75,500 units.  Last week, Mitsubishi announced that the automaker was cutting capacity to 69,000 units, reflecting decreased demand for its vehicles. The company has announced that 105 wokers would be let go through early retirement.

Cutting back production on the Endeavor makes sense, given that the entire SUV market has been hammered lately. The Galant sedan has withered in the face of stiff competition, most notably from the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Ford Fusion, and Chevrolet Malibu.  The current generation Galant debuted in the Fall of 2003 and is, therefore, approaching the end of its lifecycle. The featured photo is of the 2009 model which has received a facelift, but it still represents the latest generation Galant.

Mitsubishi may go the way of Isuzu who is exiting the US marketplace. Like Isuzu, Mitsubishi’s US sales are a shadow of their former self, putting the company’s long term viability stateside into question.