Mitsubishi Motors is a fading presence in the European automotive landscape and could soon be consigned to history. DTW remembers better times for the marque and surveys its current state.
Since the turn of the millennium, Mitsubishi Motors’ European sales have been in slow, if erratic, long-term decline. The high point was reached in 1999, when Mitsubishi sold a total of 205,009(1) vehicles and achieved a market share of 1.34%. In 2019, the comparative figures were 144,670 and 0.92%. The decline would have been more precipitous had it not been for the L200 pick-up truck, which has since 1978 been the bedrock of the company’s sales, and the 2012 Outlander PHEV, which carved a distinctive niche for itself as the first plug-in hybrid SUV.
Over the past two decades, the company has been rocked by two major scandals. The first broke in 2004, when it was revealed that Mitsubishi had been covering up vehicle defects including failing clutches and brakes and leaking fuel lines, refusing to issue recalls for these systemic problems. The company was forced to recall and rectify over 160,000 vehicles, forcing Mitsubishi group companies to Continue reading “A Long Goodbye”
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