Pop quiz: what’s the biggest market for Mitsubishi in the world? If you think it’s Indonesia or Thailand, you’re wrong. It is, call us surprised too, the Philippines.
Mitsubishi is the Philippines’ second best-selling nameplate and with 78,371 units sold last year, they account for an 18.23 percent chunk of the industry.
Putting that number into clearer perspective, since Mitsubishi sold a total of 1,024,010 units globally last year, that means the Philippines accounts for 7.65 percent of all their vehicles sold in 2023.
Comparing our numbers to Mitsubishi’s home market of Japan, the 45,877-unit figure (excluding kei cars), the Philippines is a much, much bigger market, selling 40 percent more. And even when you do include kei cars, the difference isn’t that big, all things considered (103,738 units).
With softening new car sales elsewhere in ASEAN, Mitsubishi is expecting the Philippines to be their torchbearer this year.
Their newly-launched Triton, for example, is off to a flying start with over 3,000 bookings achieved since reservations opened in October. And with shipments coming in steadily (there’s no supply issue they assure us), Mitsubishi says the Triton is well on its way to achieving or even exceeding their projected sales volume for the year.
And then you have the just-announced Xforce compact crossover. With sales starting in June (bookings open as early as November), Mitsubishi says they’ll be able move around 7,000 of these yearly. If that’s the case, they’ll be able to put rivals like the Ford Territory and its 9,119 units on notice.
All-in all, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines projects an increase in market share this year. From 18 percent in 2023, they expect that to climb to around 20 percent this year. And with the industry projecting new car sales to hit 500,000 units this year, it could mean sales in six digits for the Japanese carmaker.
Currently, the best-selling Mitsubishi model in the Philippines is the Mirage with 23,400 sold, followed closely by the Xpander with 22,509. Rounding out the Top 3 is the L300 with 13,109 units sold.
Mitsubishi should focus on continuing to make improvements to the decade old Mirage by improving its exterior and interior designs.
ReplyDeleteMitsubishi Motors Indonesia is developing a seven seater version of the XForce which is expected to appear in 2025.
Those of the older generation who loved the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Eclipse still love Mitsubishi until. Now. Surprised too than Philippines is Mitsubishi's #1 market.
ReplyDeleteMaybe launching an all-new fifth generation of the beloved pajero in the years to come isn't out of the equation at all, yes?
ReplyDeletemitsubishi should consider investing local assembly of the xpander / xpander cross when the mirage / mirage g4 assembly line ends
ReplyDeleteMitsubishi should continue to sell the immortal l300 until 2050
ReplyDeleteYes. And they should continue putting just 2 airbags with every model. LOL
DeleteBack in the 80's we basically only have the box type Mitsubishi Lancer and Nissan Sentra. Now we have at least 43 brands and hundreds of cars to choose from. This Triton will be a bestseller, the only downside is the best features are only available on the TOTL Athlete. No leather seats, no ADAS and no 4x4 automatic for all variants except for the P1.909M Athlete.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they should (and I suspect they might) continue selling the Strada alongside the Triton to cater to buyers not happy with the features and prices of the Triton.
DeleteProduction of the old L200 Strada pickup truck ended last year in Thailand so I doubt your wish would happen
DeleteNot a great idea to add ADAS and six airbags on all variants as it'll jack up the prices of all variants up to 200,000 Pesos
Mitsu's Phil mkt is bigger than Japan's. Come to think of it, if you've been to Japan as well, I don't recall seeing many Mitsubishi vehicles, maybe just 2.
ReplyDeleteThe Xpander should be produced locally, or at least 1 variant (GLX/GLS), but this is not happening any time soon. Perhaps the problem is that local suppliers aren't able to produce and supply the requirements of Mitsu PH, where at least 60%(?) of parts must be locally sourced.
ReplyDeleteThat's just sad. They depend on the Philippine market for 8% of their sales while our market is maybe a miniscule 0.1% of the total car market. Mitsubishi is as good as dead anywhere but here.
ReplyDelete"Mitsubishi is as good as dead anywhere but here" ---> what do you mean? The article just said:
ReplyDelete"Mitsubishi sold a total of 1,024,010 units GLOBALLY last year"
1M units is a fraction of the total global car market. That's why Mitsubishi no longer sells well in major markets.
Delete^But it is not "as good as dead" like you said. Their global sales is not close to zero.
Delete"1M units is A FRACTION of the total global car market" --> Even PH's beloved Toyota sells "a fraction" of the global total, as anything less than 100% of the total is "a fraction". Mitsu has sold more globally than other car brands.
Toyota is the top selling car manufacturer for a couple of already while Mitsubishi does not even have 1% of the total global car market, an embarrasing figure for the once storied brand. Even newer brands outsell Mitsu internationally. Maybe Mitsu can outsell niche luxury brands like BMWs Mercs that don't sell by volume.
DeleteWe all know that such fall isn't new. In NA, Ford had the ball but lost it to GM, which eventually lost it too. If Toyota will be careless enough, it can happen to them as well.....only time will tell.
DeleteLet's focus on what is important. The fact is that the Philippines is a small market and vehicle development is expensive. All car maker's development focus is on their biggest existing or target market. Then they make adjustments to align the vehicle with the other smaller markets. Hence it is better for PH that a relatively small car maker, like Mitsubishi, focuses on what is relevant to PH car buyers. Even if we are small, we benefit that Mitsubishi things that we are important and invests resources for both our benefit.
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