Closure of MM Plant?

[snoop75]

Just read this in today's Age:

http://business.theage.com.au/mitsub...0204-1q02.html


Would this affect us existing owners somehow?

[linc]

Seems fairly confirmed in this article.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...rMo&refer=home

Be interesting to see what that means for spare parts ... availability & cost.

[Stroker]

If its true it sure is sad for the people who work there and for the component suppliers, soon there will be no car production or maybe just one plant left in Australia

[snoop75]

Yeah.. pretty sad for the workers there. Being in the IT industry I feel their pain with more and more work going overseas to places like China, India, etc.

Which models were designed or made in Adelaide anyway?

[marquis]

India and China are taking jobs. Alot of small and big dollar projects now are going to these two.

At 1/5 to 1/10 the price - b*****ds

[BenNSW]

Only the 380 is made in South Aus. Everything else is imported from Japan.
Essentially if manufacturing is stopped in Australia Mitsubishi will continue to import, much like what happened at Nissan years ago.
As such it wont be a problem for warranty or parts.

[linc]

Car workers have been told that Mitsubishi will close its Australian assembly plant by the end of March.

Car union official Colin Fenney says the company has given the bad news to more than 900 workers in the canteen of the plant at Clovelly Park in Adelaide.

A Mitsubishi source had earlier confirmed to the ABC's Investigative Unit that the plant would be shut by the end of March.

Mitsubishi's Japanese board met today to consider the future of the Adelaide operation, which had been hit by poor sales of its flagship Mitsubishi 380 model.

Official car industry figures show 692 Adelaide-built Mitsubishi 380s were sold last month, down from 1,041 a year earlier.

When Mitsubishi launched the 380 model in 2005 it had hoped to sell about 32,000 cars annually.

Last year it sold about 11,000.

About 400 workers will remain at the Adelaide plant while it is decomissioned.

Car industry analyst, David Gelb, says the closure decision is an economic one for Mitsubishi in Japan.

"Ultimately at the end of the day, in a very competitive global automotive market it just comes down to the overall economics of Mitsubishi globally and where its priorities lie," he said.

.

[Pickle]

Well that certainly ends the speculation, sad to see all the job losses but the 380 without a wagon version was always going to struggle against Ford and Holden with fleet sales. But I am sure it's not all doom and gloom for Mitsubishi in Australia. Without salesmen trying to flog a 380 there should be some good deals to be had on their other range of vehicles and should not lose their market share.
And this just in from MMA

Mitsubishi Motors - 47 years in Australia with many more to come.

Mitsubishi Motors is a well recognised and trusted brand in the Australian market. The outstanding performance of our broad-based imported vehicle line-up, which achieved 32 percent sales growth over the past twelve months, clearly indicates the strength of the brand. Our growing range of passenger and commercial vehicles makes heads turn ? not simply because of their style but also their safety, reliability and value.

Australia is a very important market for Mitsubishi Motors and we are committed to building on our many successes and increasing our market share. Becoming a long-term sponsor of the Australian Olympic Team is a strong symbol of that commitment as is our plan to strengthen our nationwide network of over 200 dealers selling and servicing Mitsubishi cars.

None of these commitments are affected by the decision announced this week that our Adelaide production facility, which manufactures only the large 380 sedan, will cease operations. That decision has been made because Australian consumers are moving towards smaller, more economic, and environmentally friendlier cars like those in the rest of the Mitsubishi range.

We would like to publicly express deep appreciation to our highly committed and loyal workforce and supplier family, who have given the 380 plant a proven track record of flexibility, cost efficiency and excellent quality control.

Closure of the 380 plant will directly affect 930 employees. The company has ensured that our employees will receive all entitlements along with very favourable separation packages in recognition of their contribution to the company. Mitsubishi Motors Australia will also be working closely with government agencies in the provision of comprehensive retraining, job seeking and other support services.

Looking ahead we have a comprehensive model range - Lancer, Colt, Grandis, Pajero, Outlander, Triton and Express Van with more new products to come, confirming our long-term presence and growth aspirations in the Australian car market.

Additionally, Mitsubishi customers will continue to enjoy the industry leading reassurance of the Diamond Advantage programme, which incorporates our 5/10 Warranty, five year Roadside Assist, 24/7 Customer Assistance Centre, genuine service and parts, and financing options, delivered through our extensive dealer network.

At Mitsubishi, we greatly value our customers and are proud of every vehicle that carries the Mitsubishi badge. These have been hallmarks of our 47 years in the Australian market, as they will be for our long and successful future here.

Yours faithfully,


Robert McEniry
President & CEO
Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd


Dave

[Stroker]

I think the rot may have really set in with the last Magna they made it looked very strange and didnt sell very well. Also the 380 was exclusively Aussie no LHD sales to keep the line ticking along.
I guess it will be super discount time on existing stock and horrendous resales values for current 380 owners.

[BenNSW]

I think the problem is that if you are to have any success selling a large family car in Australia it needs to be RWD and have greater appeal to the Australian market. At the very least MMA should have ensured all 380's were AWD (they have done it before). Essentially anyone looking to buy a large family sedan is going to buy a Holden or a Ford due to the engine/performance options and many are probably swayed by the association with V8 Supercars.
As for fleet sales, MMA would have really seen the 380 drop off the charts it the rental scene hadn't come on board. Which i think you will see makes up a large number of 380 sales.
For the record I have driven 380's on many occasions, apart from the low rent interior they are a good vehicle.

[simoncurly]

. At the very least MMA should have ensured all 380's were AWD (they have done it before).

This would only happen if the AWD running gear was produced by MMC or a supplier for another market ie US and it isn't so it wasn't

and besides having constant AWD was about 1l/100km extra in fuel as i recall when i had an AWD Verada

[simoncurly]

no LHD sales to keep the line ticking along.

The Galant is produced in the Normal MMNA plant Michigan US so there is no opportunity for export of LHD ... the replacement model may well see a RHD model produced in US for export to here

[Jaydee]

Mitsubishi Motors Australia will also be working closely with government agencies in the provision of comprehensive retraining, job seeking and other support services.

And if you believe what academics tell you

Professor Andrew Beer says 13 per cent of the workers surveyed for the study could not find new work.

He says it cannot be assumed that the Clovelly Park Mitsubishi workers will find new jobs easily.

"There's a lot of discussion about how buoyant the labour market is, how there's demand for defence jobs, how there's a demand for people to work in the mining industry," he said.

"But we found the people who left Lonsdale and who left after April 2004 simply just didn't get those jobs.

"They were considered too old, they didn't have the right skills set, they didn't have the right attitudes and they were virtually left on the shelf." http://www.bigpond.com/news/business...06/2156061.asp

Gawd I love spin doctors.....

They main reason is older people cost more and someone barely out of school can do the same job cheaper/hr.... qualified auto spray painter averages $60/hr.... 3rd yr apprentice $16/hr... if the finish is the same to a company why pay more ?


As for them getting into the mining industry... HA ! Unless your a tradie it's 3 yrs of ginning around shelling out coin to get tickets, experience and even then there's no guarantee of acceptance or ongoing work. Been there... better off trying to become a primary school chaulkie.

[BenNSW]

This would only happen if the AWD running gear was produced by MMC or a supplier for another market ie US and it isn't so it wasn't

and besides having constant AWD was about 1l/100km extra in fuel as i recall when i had an AWD Verada

I know what you are saying re the AWD, from memory the Magna and Verada AWD was a shoehorned modification which saw the Jap AWD Diamante drive train inserted into the Magna.

I suspect along with potential for extra friction on the road, the added weight of the rear diff etc also contributed to the millage on the Verada.

My point really is that if you are going to compete in the Australian manufactured market, particularly the large car market, you need to have positive points of difference from your competitors, which AWD would have been (ala Subaru) as well as being able to sell it on the safety angle.

The main points of difference on the 380 are however probably seen as negatives - front wheel drive, unique (dodgy) styling, refined engine (but lack options compared to Holden and Ford, i.e. V8's, Turbos etc). Perhaps a diesel 380 might have been the go... Ok maybe not.

Still a really good car, just not that desirable.

[simoncurly]

My point really is that if you are going to compete in the Australian manufactured market, particularly the large car market, you need to have positive points of difference from your competitors, which AWD would have been (ala Subaru) as well as being able to sell it on the safety angle.

If you want to be manufacturing cars in Oz the thing you need is volume published wisdom used to suggest 60000 was a good starting point .. lets face it in the volume large car market there is barely room for 2 models let alone 3 ... let's see where Ford are in 5 years time .....

MMAl have stated losses of 1500 million dollars in the last 10 years clearly an unsustainable position ... in fact i would say they were manufacturing here for 10 years too long ...