Mitsubishi Galant Likely To Be Retired At Life Cycle’s End

The midsize car market is a brutal segment in the automotive industry, one that is dominated by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord with both the Chevrolet Malibu and Ford Fusion also making a strong showing. Virtually every automaker is represented in this segment, consisting of over twenty different models for consumers to choose from.

With such a crowded field, some models are getting squeezed more than others, putting pressure on automakers to pour money into updating one or more entries, and taking resources away from other products.

Mitsubishi, who has long fielded a midsize model of its own, the Galant, will likely depart this segment when the ninth (and current) generation Galant ages out in four years. Built at the company’s sole U.S. Plant in Normal, Illinois, the Galant along with the Endeavor and Eclipse contributed only 80,000 sales for Mitsubishi for the most recent model year just ended. The plant’s capacity is 240,000 vehicles but only needs to produce 100,000 units annually in order to turn a profit.

Falling short by 20,000 units, Mitsubishi is looking to replace the Galant with a better selling model, perhaps its compact Lancer or its small Outlander SUV, maybe both. Both vehicles could be built in the US with excess capacity shipped overseas.

Mitsubishi recently completed an agreement with the United Auto Workers to keep the plant open for at least four more years in exchange for employee concessions. A move to smaller, more desirable vehicles could ensure that the plant’s life is extended well beyond that time frame.

To help maintain product build, Mitsubishi has begun to export the Galant and Endeavor, but isn’t seeing that much success. Like so many other automakers stuck with excess capacity, shipping products abroad is being a much more competitive undertaking, one that is falling far short of expectations.

For consumers, finding a great deal on most any midsize car is easy to do thanks to heated competition. The Hyundai Sonata, Pontiac G6, Chrysler Sebring, and Buick LaCrosse have all been heavily discounted this year, making the midsize market a car buying extravaganza for savvy shoppers.

(Source: Motor Trends)

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.