How long before Mitsubishi India shuts shop!!

I just cant believe or understand how Mitsubishi is simply ignoring the Indian market. It was one of the first companies to find success with diesel sedans and carved an enviable niche for itself. 15 years later nobody would have expected the state of affairs to be so bad!! Car Majors who are yet to enter India or have done so recently would give a hand and leg for the headstart Mitsubishi has had in India as well their existing sales and service network.To top all this the Mitsubishi brand always had decent goodwill in India, plenty of NRI imports during the license Raj days, Mitsubishi LCVs, enthusiasts love affair with the Evo and last but not the least the much loved Pajero. They also have good diesel expertise. One would think the Mitsu head ponchos would realize all this and do something. But a decade of lagging sales the company has done literally nothing to prove they are serious about the Indian market. As already pointed out by GTO, their present market performance is tear inducing. To top the Japanese companies woes is the present state of affairs at HM. I do not think the Birlas have any real intention of being players in the Automotive sector anymore. One gets the feeling they are in a hurry to liquidate any existing assets and turn their backs to the last remaining Iconic Indian car company. At this rate in a few years time its highly doubtful that anyone sees reason as to why the Indian operations should continue. While this thread so far sounds all gloom, it was never my intention. Simply stating the facts. There is still a lot of hope for Mitsubishi to turn things around. For the short term Mitsubishi must aim for volumes from the small car market. Mitsubishi already have an agreement with Suzuki to supply them with small cars for sale in Japan. They should try a similar approach in India as well, re brand and market Suzuki made cars. While this might not prove a huge boost to their bottom line at least it will jump start their sales and create visibility in the market. Suzuki could also benefit from this opportunity to move their less successful models like A Star and Ritz. Mitsubishi needs to take a serious look at India as a production base rather than an assembly operation. Both their small cars the i and Colt are struggling globally, primarily because their higher pricing. Mitsubishi needs to start using India as their small car production base. The localization will help them make the cars cheaper for export as well as price it competitively within India as well. Last but not the least they should start a major localization and assembly drive of their SUV range and price them aggressively. The thirst for big cars will only grow in India and Mitsubishi is still an aspirational brand when it comes to SUVs. I know all this is unlikely to happen, though I'd like to be proven wrong !!!

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