Mitsubishi Discontinues Pajero SUV Globally, Restructuring Continues

Strapped for cash, Mitsubishi has placed another legend on the chopping block. While the Pajero is famous globally for its stellar performance at the Dakar Rally, giving Mitsubishi more wins at the event than any other brand in history, you probably knew it as the Montero (or Dodge Raider if you’re old enough).

Sadly, you won’t be knowing it as anything but a memory soon — even if you live somewhere with a source of fresh examples. Having forecast another year of losses, Mitsubishi decided it need to continue tightening its belt. The Pajero will be taken out of production while the brand focuses on business in Asia.

Even die-hard Mitsubishi fans waiting for a return to form have largely given up at this point.

The days of the brand offering purposeful machines that could compete with fancier rivals at a substantially lower price are gone and the company seems to have no interest in reviving anything with VR-4 at the end if its name — be it the once-common Galant or more-ludicrous 3000GT. We’d ask what happened to the formerly mighty brand, but it’s not like there is some big secret. We have watched the saga unfold for decades, with 2020 being the latest chapter in this tragic tale.

Following some already tough times, Mitsubishi Motors posted a loss of about 176 billion yen ($1.7 billion USD) in the April-June quarter and predicted more trouble on the way. According to Reuters, the brand recently said it anticipates an operating loss of 140 billion yen ($1.33 billion) for the year ending March 2021 — citing cooling regional markets and the pandemic as major contributors. Meanwhile, 2020’s year-end losses could be as high as 220 billion yen ($2.1 billion).

From Reuters:

The coronavirus crisis has exacerbated struggles at the company that had already been battling falling sales in China and southeast Asia, its largest market which accounts for a quarter of its sales.

As part of its restructuring plan, Mitsubishi, a junior member of the Nissan-Renault automaking group, said it would stop making the Pajero SUV crossover model next year, and close the plant in Japan which makes the vehicle.

The maker of the Outlander SUV said it would reduce its presence in Europe and North America and focus on growing in Asia.

Restructuring efforts will progress with the brand downsizing wherever possible and sharing responsibilities with Nissan/Renault. Mitsubishi hopes to reduced fixed costs by 20 percent over the next few years and pull out of any region where business is failing. That said, the planned cost-cutting strategy won’t be sufficient to offset existing losses.

Mitsubishi’s chief executive told reporters that the severity of the matter should not be downplayed and to expect additional measures. “To pave the way to recovery, the top priority of all executives is to share a sense of crisis with employees to execute cost reductions,” CEO Takeo Kato said.

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