Mitsubishi 1999 Annual Report Download - page 31

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 31 of the 1999 Mitsubishi annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 62

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62

Operational review
29
other countries in Europe. The company is collaborating with
VTC in the development of a medium-duty truck and is look-
ing at a further expansion of the relationship.
Asia & Oceania
MMC enjoyed record sales in Australia for the second con-
secutive year. Sales in Asia and the ASEAN block declined
sharply due to currency crises and economic upheavals. The
one exception was Taiwan where Mitsubishi brand vehicles
posted increased sales. The company's strategic multi–pur-
pose vehicle (MPV) model for Asian markets has helped it to
retain and increase share in these markets.
In Australia, sales of Mitsubishi brand vehicles posted
record sales for the second year in a row, as sales grew by
2% on 1998. Market share declined slightly to 10.4% as the
total market grew 12%. Strong sales of the Lancer and Pajero
Sport models imported from Japan offset a decline in sales of
the locally-produced Magna and Verda models due to strong
competition activity in the segment. The Lancer was the sec-
ond best-selling model in the compact class. Production at
MMAL was 23% down on the previous year. Exports to
North America and to other Oceania markets were 50%
down. Mitsubishi light-duty truck sales in Australia were
15% up on 1997 and a record.
In Thailand, total car sales were 60% down on fiscal 1997.
Mitsubishi brand car sales were 55% down, but strong growth of
47% in pickup truck exports, including the start of exports
Lancer models to New Zealand, and an uncompromising restruc-
turing program that included the closing of a factory and a reduc-
tion in payroll of 1,200, and hedging of borrowings helped
MMC Sittipol Co., post a profit. MSC started shipments of pick-
up truck knock-down kits to South Africa and the Philippines.
Heavy-duty truck sales decreased by 74%.
In the Philippines, total industry car sales were 44%
down on 1997. Mitsubishi brand car sales fell by 33%, and
combined car and truck sales by 35%, but the company
brand recaptured leading share for the first time in nine
years, helped by strong sales of the Adventure MPV model
launched at the beginning of 1998. Mitsubishi's MPV series
is a strategic model for the Asian market that is assembled in
Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia, and employs parts
complementation to maximize efficiencies and optimally tai-
lor specifications for each market.
In Indonesia, total industry car sales dropped 84% over
1997, due to political and economic instability in the coun-
try. Mitsubishi brand car sales dropped by 88%, and com-
bined car and truck sales by 87% over 1997. In March this
year, the company launched the Kuda MPV series model in
L200 Strada
Space Star