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MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION Annual Report 2007
10
Lancer (North American specification) Eclipse
MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION Annual Report 2007
Q5. So you don’t expect much growth outside these
growing markets then?
A. Mature markets do not promise the same large
growth as the BRIC*4 countries and other newly
industrializing countries. However, there is much that
we should—and must—do to open up more business
opportunities in mature markets. For example, in
Western Europe, MMC has been supplying SUVs to
PSA Peugeot Citroën since May 2007. The projected
supply of 30,000 vehicles in the first fiscal year is
expected to make a large earnings contribution.
In the U.S., total automobile demand has been
declining year on year. Restoring sales growth in the
world’s largest auto market has been a priority for
MMC. In this challenging environment, we believe
that our U.S. retail sales finally bottomed out in fiscal
year 2006, having increased for the first time in five
fiscal years during the past fiscal year. Measures to
normalize fleet sales and reduce large sales incen-
tives are beginning to produce results. Furthermore,
favorable sales in the U.S. have been fueled by ef-
forts to rebuild trust with dealerships, implement
efficient marketing activities, and conduct steady
advertising campaigns, not to mention strong sales
of the new
Lancer
model. With the new
Outlander
and
Lancer
models also performing well in Canada,
MMC’s overall performance is improving in North
America. Our remaining priorities in the U.S. are to
grow retail sales of locally produced vehicles and
boost the productivity of local production facilities.
Of the vehicles produced at the Illinois Plant, the
sporty
Eclipse
coupe has been selling well, but sales
of the mainstay
Galant
and
Endeavor
models have
been less than satisfactory. Going forward, we hope
to regain momentum by launching special editions
of locally produced vehicles.
*4Four countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) experiencing rapid
economic development.