Bye Bye Mitsubishi

[FLiPMaRC]

DaimlerChrysler to quit Mitsubishi
Reuters / April 22, 2004

STUTTGART, Germany -- DaimlerChrysler AG said on Thursday it was pulling out of Mitsubishi Motors, leaving its bid to become a global carmaker in disarray and throwing the future of the ailing Japanese firm into doubt.

The group said that it had decided not to participate in a rescue capital increase planned by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. because it could not agree on an acceptable deal with other shareholders in the loss-making company.

It also said it would not provide any further financial support to Mitsubishi, Japan's only unprofitable carmaker.

"This clearly means separation," a DaimlerChrysler spokesman said, adding that the 37 percent stake would be booked as discontinued business until a buyer could be found.

Mitsubishi representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

The decision came after an extraordinary meeting of the DaimlerChrysler supervisory and management boards on Thursday.

Supervisory board sources said earlier that the company had discussed selling its 10 percent stake in South Korea's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd., worth about 850 million euros ($1 billion), to help fund the Mitsubishi rescue.

Mitsubishi, Japan's fourth largest and only unprofitable carmaker, had been planning to present details of a 700 billion yen ($6.39 billion) bailout to shareholders on April 30.

Reeling from losses generated by a disastrous strategy of offering cheap car loans in the U.S., Mitsubishi is expecting a net loss of 72 billion yen for the 12 months to March 31. It had a profit of 37.36 billion yen the previous year.

Mitsubishi Motors' net automotive debt stood at around 726 billion yen six months ago, while total interest-bearing debt was 1.141 trillion.

"This could be the end for Mitsubishi if nobody else injects fresh capital," said one industry source.

DaimlerChrysler bought the stake in Mitsubishi over three years ago with a view to expanding its presence in Asia. It has since worked to establish closer production ties between the Japanese firm and its other problem child, U.S. automaker Chrysler, to cut

[explorer]

toyota and honda can easily buy mitsubishi, but that would weaken their company having an overlaping list of products with mitsubishi. renault is the most possible buyer but it has almost all the products that misubishi is selling under its umbrella now. is GM interested to take another fat that will just clog it's already choking system? how about ford, after recovering financially from the firestone recall, is it on the buying spree again? let's see what kind of re-alignment will happen in the next few days or weeks....

[snyc3]

tsk... tsk... sayang, ang ganda pa naman ng commercials nila... hehehe...

[mazdamazda]

uh-oh... time not to buy mitsus?

[MAXBUWAYA]

does this mean i wont have parts for my ballpen?

[odell]

sayang naman...

[Monseratto]

Originally posted by explorer
toyota and honda can easily buy mitsubishi, but that would weaken their company having an overlaping list of products with mitsubishi. renault is the most possible buyer but it has almost all the products that misubishi is selling under its umbrella now. is GM interested to take another fat that will just clog it's already choking system? how about ford, after recovering financially from the firestone recall, is it on the buying spree again? let's see what kind of re-alignment will happen in the next few days or weeks....

Renault already controls Nissan Motors while Ford has a stake with Mazda. GM has Isuzu also. Daimler Chrysler was the only one with a small share in Mitsubishi, but apparently the Japanese don't want to relinquish management control to Daimler. The bad publicity of the late recalls has affected Mitsubishi bottomline.

[lokolokoboy69]

hehehe!! welcome b k d2.....

[O!lman]

Walk Away..........


ito na ang bagong theme song ng Mitsu!

[pajerokid]

sob sob!!! hehehe As long as may parts oks na rin ako....

[theveed]

Originally posted by mazdamazda
uh-oh... time not to buy mitsus?

Hehe, actually since 95 wala nang pera ang mitsu, their reliability on almost all their cars are pretty low even if compared to Hyundais in the US.. Lampaso sila sa Saturn... They've been broke for quite a while, it's very evident with their lack of new (all new BTW) models even on the low end market like Lancers and Galants... Puros facelift lang and sheetmetal changes.

[the_wildthing]

Sana mag-mura ang EVO, parang closing out sale...

[odell]

tama!. sana un mga evo's mura na!!!..

para un dream ko matupad naman...

with the sound of the BOV

[eVo-XTreme]

AHHH!!! Sayang naman ang mitsubishi kung ganun... pano na ang lan evo sa wrc??? HAHA!!! Kung sa bagay... di naman sila ang nangunguna ngayon kundi ang ford and subaru... Bangon mitsu!!! ^_^

[A121]

dapat yung kanta ay "Running Away" - Hoobastank

tsk tsk...

[van_wilder]

evo dapat 70% off kasi clearance sale na! hehehe...

[Erap]

Sayang! Kung may pera lang ang Pinas, pagkakataon na sana nating magkaroon ng Pinoy brand na kotse

The public still hasn't forgotten Mitsu's lies and deceptions about their car quality and reliability. But to be fair sa Mitsu, magaganda naman ang resulta ng reliability at safety ratings ng mga bagong sasakyan nila. Yung bagong 10-year warranty nila is one of the best in the car industry today.

IMO, may bibili at bibili ng mga shares ng Mitsu by another car manufacturer. Pababayaan ba ng Toyota na makuha ng Honda ang Mitsu (although this is against the belief of Honda na smaller is better)? Pababayaan ba ng Ford na makuha ng GM ang mitsu? This is the same reason GM bought some shares of Daewoo not so long ago para hindi sya pakinabangan ng mga ka-kompetensya nya (specifically Ford). Daimler Chrysler is also not that strong as before financially para maging gatasan ng Mitsu. Infact, Toyota has overtaken Chrysler as the 3rd biggest car manufacturer in the world. I believe GM or, believe it or not, Hyundai will enter the picture and save Mitsu from its financial troubles. Lets wait and see.

[A121]

paano kaya kung bilhin ng sony ang mitsubishi? hehehe

[boybi]

Originally posted by A121
paano kaya kung bilhin ng sony ang mitsubishi? hehehe

hindi malayong mangyari yan. para may pangtapat ang sony sa samsung

[RafRaf]

from manila bulletin (business):

Mitsubishi to invest R2 B for SUV production in RP


By BERNIE CAHILES MAGKILAT


Despite financial difficulties, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) will pursue its investment plan in the Philippines saying that the R2 billion funding requirement for the production of a new sports utility vehicle (SUV) has been secured, a move that will transform the Philippines as its export hub in ASEAN starting 2006.


This was confirmed by Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. (MMPC) president and chief executive officer Kengo Takase in a memorandum to business partners and employees following Daimler-Chrysler’s refusal to infuse additional capital to revitalize its parent company Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC).

MMPC has already made representation with Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar B. Purisima of its decision to export a Philippine SUV model for exports to Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Purisima said MMPC’s investment will create a 6,000 new jobs.

"A small new SUV to be manufactured at MMPC from 2006 for the Philippine market and export to ASEAN countries is already in the program and funding for which is not contingent of the Revitalization Plan,’’ Takase said in the memo.

Takase, however, did not elaborate where the funding for the Philippine project will come from.

MMC needs $6.5 billion to continue the revitalization of new products as its c ash flow projections can no longer support new product development scheduled for launching in 2006 onwards.

Following the withdrawal of support from its partner Daimler-Chrysler, which owns 37 percent of MMC, three other companies of the Mitsubishi Group and major MMC shareholders were quick to provide financial assistance to save the ailing Japanese motor company.

These firms — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corp. and Bank of Tokyo – have committed to support MMC’s financial requirements and to develop a new Revitalization Plan by the end of May this year. Together the three companies hold 22.9 percent of MMC.

With the assurance of financing from the three sister firms, Takase said that "MMPC will continue its operations based on its current product line-up and the launch of products in 2004 to 2006 which are already in the current MMC line-up but will be new to the Philippine market.’’

Takase further assured business partners that aside from the manufacture of the small SUV for the domestic market and for exports to ASEAN, MMC will also introduce to the local market — the Grandis, Montero Sport and others.

Takase also expressed confidence that the alliance between Daimler-Chrysler and MMC will continue due to the advanced stage of joint product development and parts design and manufacturing sharing.

"Given the situation, I have the confidence that MMPC operations in the Philippines will continue to be competitive and profitable,’’ Takase said.

MMPC’s decision to produce a new model for the ASEAN market was seen as taking advantage of the attractive Automotive Exports Program (AEP) of the BoI.

The AEP offers a net foreign exchange earnings in the form of tax credit to volume exporters of completely built-up units.