Mitsubishi Motors Australia

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Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd
Type	Subsidiary
Founded	October 1980
Headquarters	Tonsley Park, Adelaide
Key people	Robert McEniry (President & CEO)
Industry	Automaker
Products	Mitsubishi 380
Employees	2,200
Parent	Mitsubishi Motors (100%)
Website	Mitsubishi-Motors.com.au

Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd. (MMAL) is a fully owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) of Japan.

Its Australian administrative and manufacturing headquarters are located at Tonsley Park (Clovelly Park), Adelaide, South Australia, with branch offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

A large parts facility is maintained in Adelaide, with another parts facility located in Sydney.

Contents 1 Vehicle lineup 2 Brief history 3 Challenges facing MMAL 4 Production and sales, 1991–2004

[edit] Vehicle lineup

MMAL builds and imports vehicles for sale in the Australian market.

The Tonsley Park plant assembles the Mitsubishi 380. This C-category (medium to large sedan/station wagon) is based on the Mitsubishi Galant with major modifications to tailor the vehicle to the Australian market.

The remainder of the range that MMAL sells into the Australian market is imported from Japan (Colt, Pajero, Grandis, Lancer/Mirage/Libero, Delica/Express, Outlander, and Challenger) and Thailand (Triton 4x4).

[edit] Brief history

MMAL's Tonsley Park plant was opened in 1964 as the Australian Manufacturing Plant for Chrysler Australia, with Chrysler's previous manufacturing plant being relocated from Keswick, an inner-Adelaide suburb.

In 1968, Chrysler opened an engine manufacturing plant south of Adelaide at Lonsdale, to provide engines for the popular Valiant and Charger lines that were being assembled at Tonsley Park.

During the 1970s, Chrysler began working closely with MMC, with the result that Chrysler Australia begin building Mitsubishi-designed Chrysler-branded vehicles such as the Chrysler Sigma.

In 1980, Chrysler pulled out of Australian manufacturing and the Tonsley Park plant was sold to MMC and a new subsidiary, MMAL, was formed to run the plant.

Production of the popular Sigma and Colt range of vehicles continued under the Mitsubishi name until the late 1980s, when production was switched exclusively to the Magna, and later Verada lines.

Several model refreshes during the 1990s kept the Magna and Verada updated; however, by the early 2000s, it was clear that the Magna/Verada line had aged considerably. A minor facelift to the Magna/Verada line in 2003 failed to lift sales.

Approval for construction of a new vehicle was gained from MMC and funding was provided to re-engineer the Tonsley Park plant with the result that a new vehicle, the Mitsubishi 380, was delivered to the market in late 2005.

[edit] Challenges facing MMAL

MMC's financial and legal issues have weighed hard on MMAL, with public perception of the viability of MMAL reaching an all time low in 2004. The withdrawal of DaimlerChrysler from its involvement with MMC in 2004, along with the resultant MMC revitalisation plan that called for the closure of the Lonsdale engine plant, did not help the public's perception of MMAL as a viable company.

MMAL ended 2004 with a large number of unsold Magnas and Veradas. With the 2005 release of the 380 drawing nearer, MMAL introduced a new 5/10 year extended warranty program which successfully boosted sales and allowed the backlog to be cleared.

The Mitsubishi 380, the successor vehicle to the Magna, raised hopes at MMAL that the vehicle will be successful, buoyed partly by the sales success that the Magna experienced when it was launched as a new line in 1985 and partly by the fact that the Australian automobile market is one of the few developed markets in the world currently experiencing growth. However, it has sold poorly since its introduction, which has necessitated the lowering of production volume to as little as 50 cars per day and further reductions in the workforce.

As sales of MMC vehicles began to show improvement in Asian and European markets as new vehicles were introduced during 2006, it is hoped that the introduction of these vehicles in the Australian market may help MMAL to regain sales and improve overall profitability.

[edit] Production and sales, 1991–2004

Year	Production	Sales
1991	29,074	n/a
1992	36,714	n/a
1993	52,521	n/a
1994	47,859	n/a
1995	39,728	n/a
1996	43,235	n/a
1997	58,290	n/a
1998	47,296	n/a
1999	34,883	n/a
2000	38,566	70,599
2001	43,801	65,512
2002	46,191	65,054
2003	31,470	66,979
2004	17,245	56,260

MITSUBISHI MOTORS v • d • e

Subsidiaries, affiliates & factories: Colt Car Company | Diamond-Star Motors (DSM) | Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA) | Lonsdale | Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL) | Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA) | Mitsubishi Motors Philippines (MMPC) | Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) (MMTh) | NedCar | Ralliart