TOKYO – Mitsubishi Motors said Monday expects a loss of 360 billion yen ($3.4 billion) for the year ending March 2021, marking the back-to-back moment of red ink, as sales peaked due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mitsubishi, which is 34% owned by Nissan Motor, expects sales to fall 35% to 1.48 trillion yen, with a projected volume of 25% to 845,000 units.
By region, sales volume is expected to fall by 19% in Southeast Asia, the company’s largest market, 21% in Japan, 34% in North America and 47% in Europe. Sales in China are expected to remain stable.
For the quarter from April to June, the Japanese manufacturer reported a 57% drop in sales to 229.5 billion yen. The net balance fell to a loss of 176.2 billion yen in a profit of 9.3 billion yen. There was a loss of 115.9 billion yen at its domestically produced facilities, adding plants in Okazaki, Kyoto and Gifu.
As a component of a radical restructuring, Mitsubishi will close the company’s flagship game application vehicle plant, Pajero, in Gifu Prefecture. Production will end this year. The company has also suspected plans for new models for Europe.
The automaker stopped generating the Pajero for the domestic market last year. The Pajero SUV, which will be discontinued, is another of the Pajero Sport, a very sold SUV specially designed for emerging markets. Production of Pajero Sport will continue in Thailand.
The closure of the Gifu plant represents the first closure of a domestic plant since 2001. It is one of 3 national passenger car production plants and also produces the Outlander SUV. The closure is expected to accelerate corporate production and lower prices as sales stagnate. In the last fiscal year, the plant produced 63,000 units, or 10% of domestic production.
Mitsubishi will waive the dividend payment for the existing fiscal year, prioritise the creation of liquidity positions based on short-term financial needs. The company paid a 10 yen dividend consistent with a consistent percentage in the last fiscal year.
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