In the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, Mitsubishi slumped to an operating loss of ¥53.3 billion ($496.3 million) and tumbled to a net loss of $1.64 billion.
Profits evaporated as the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out sales. But the company was already in a downward trajectory when the global health crisis hit. Mitsubishi’s global sales plunged 53 percent to 139,000 vehicles in the April-June period. North American sales tumbled 60 percent to 17,000 vehicles, while European volume slid 48 percent to 30,000.
Mitsubishi says it is reeling from ballooning fixed costs that accumulated during the company’s bid to expand sales in virtually every global market under its previous business plan.
The new approach calls for “selection and concentration” in a bid to focus the carmaker’s limited resources on the products and regions where it is strong. That means trying to shore up results in markets such as North America, Europe and China while leaning on Southeast Asia, Australia, South America, the Middle East and Africa as the main growth drivers going ahead.