Mitsubishi brass bullish on PHL

New releases to underpin growth this year

MITSUBISHI MOTORS Philippines Corp. (MMPC) had a banner year in 2023, selling 78,371 units to retain second place among auto marques here. That figure allowed it to corner 18.23% of the market, paced only by perennial leader Toyota.

Buoyed by that performance and, perhaps, a handful of exciting models in key segments just around the corner, MMPC is looking toward outdoing itself this year — to the tune of 19% to 20% market share. This, of course, helps to underscore the importance of our market — as does the recent visit of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) Executive Vice-President for Sales Tatsuo Nakamura.

The official, along with MMC ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) B Division General Manager Minoru Kinoshita, recently met with some members of the media and content creators to convey their gratitude for the support, as well as to provide some insight into what’s in store.

MMPC President and CEO Takeshi Hara led off by reporting that the recently launched Mitsubishi Triton pickup was performing “great,” and that the company has been getting a lot of reservations for the model. “We’ll try to get more (vehicles), but there’s no problem with supply,” he stated. Mitsubishi reports that the Triton already has mustered a booking total of 3,000 units here, which stretches back to last year since people first got wind of the model’s arrival.

The bullishness of Mitsubishi’s business is apparently being centered in this region. Mr. Nakamura revealed, “In our relentless pursuit of excellence, we have strategically aligned our business overseeing the dynamic ASEAN market… We are concentrating our resources in ASEAN, of course including the Philippines,

and keep preparing the introduction of new models year by year.”

He stressed that the Philippines is one of the most important and strategic countries in the region, and the business momentum is expected to be kept

or even accelerated by the debut of the Mitsubishi Xforce in June.

The five-seater crossover has been specifically developed for the ASEAN market — as well as customers in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa — and

From left are Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) Senior Manager for Product Planing Allan Nicholas Cruz, MMPC EVP for Sales and Marketing Takanobu Suzuki, MMPC President and CEO Takeshi Hara, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) EVP for Sales Tatsuo Nakamura, MMC ASEAN B Division General Manager Minoru Kinoshita, and MMPC Chairman Noriaki Hirakata.

The Mitsubishi Xforce SUV, which debuted globally in Indonesia last year, will enter the Philippine market this June.

Mr. Nakamura underscored how important the ASEAN region is to the company.

Mr. Hara reported on the healthy takeup of the Mitsubishi Triton pickup.