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Mitsubishi expects a massive loss this year due to the coronavirus pandemic

TOKYO — Mitsubishi Motors reported Monday a $1.7 billion (176 billion yen) loss for April-June, and forecast more red ink for the fiscal year, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed auto demand around the world. The Japanese automaker had posted a profit of 9.3 billion yen for the fiscal first quarter the previous year. Quarterly sales shrank 57% to $2.2 billion (229.5 billion yen). The maker of the Outlander sport utility vehicle and I-MiEV electric car expects to chalk up a $3.4 billion (360 billion yen) loss for the fiscal year through March 2021, because of the fallout from the outbreak. This would be MitsubishiÂ’s biggest loss in at least 18 years, according to company financial records dating back to 2002. “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,” Chief Executive Takeo Kato told reporters. The shaky results come as Mitsubishi MotorsÂ’ alliance partners Nissan and Renault of France work to recover from the downfall of their former chairman, Carlos Ghosn. Ghosn was out on bail, awaiting trial on various financial misconduct allegations in Tokyo, when he fled late last year to Lebanon. He has said he is innocent of the allegations of under-reporting future compensation and breach of trust. Mitsubishi Motors has denounced Ghosn. Mitsubishi officials, in a news conference relayed in a call to reporters, promised a turnaround, pursuing growth in Southeast Asian markets, where its profitability is relatively strong, and building on its strength in four-wheel drive and “off road performance.” They said they expect the companyÂ’s results to recover next fiscal year, once COVID-19 is brought under control. Product development will leverage “synergies” with alliance partners, and labor costs will be cut through pay cuts, hiring freezes and voluntary retirements, the automaker said. Tokyo-based Mitsubishi also said itÂ’s working on innovative technology, such as improved diesel engines, electric vehicles and autonomous driving. Its electric vehicles are a strength as environmental standards continue to toughen, especially in major markets like China, it said. But it warned the outbreakÂ’s impact on auto demand was worse than what the auto market suffered during the 2008 financial crisis and so a recovery will take time.

Renault-Nissan goes for closer cooperation, outsells VW and Toyota

PARIS — Renault-Nissan plans to double cost savings to nearly $12 billion by 2022, partly through closer cooperation with Mitsubishi, but left key questions about the automakers' alliance unresolved. Chairman Carlos Ghosn has pledged to step up the pace of integration after Nissan took a controlling stake in Mitsubishi last year. The 18-year-old Renault-Nissan pairing has only recently begun rolling out cars on common architectures. Combined sales volumes are expected to rise to 14 million vehicles by 2022 from 10.5 million expected this year, with revenue advancing by a third to $240 billion, the alliance said at a news conference in Paris on Friday. However, any investors impatient for a new capital or management structure to speed integration and prepare Ghosn's succession were likely to be disappointed. There was "no answer from Ghosn on the possibility of a merger by 2022," Jeffries analyst Philippe Houchois noted.12 NEW ALL-ELECTRICS Ghosn has been seeking a new second-in-command, sources told Reuters in June. But such plans are linked to thornier questions about the balance of power between the two main carmakers and the French government's outsize clout as Renault's biggest shareholder, supported by double voting rights. Twelve new pure-electric models will be on the road by 2022 as Renault-Nissan seeks to defend the head-start it gained with the current generation of battery cars, spearheaded by the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe, as more competitors join the fray. With 5.27 million cars and vans delivered in the first half of the year, Renault-Nissan now claims the mantle of the world's biggest carmaker, ahead of Volkswagen and Toyota, even though Renault has never consolidated the sales of its 43.4 percent-owned Japanese affiliate into its own. Under existing plans, the alliance is seeking to increase synergies — from cutting costs and boosting revenue — to 5.5 billion euros next year from 5 billion recorded in 2016. SHARED PLATFORMS A fourth common vehicle platform will be shared across the alliance by 2022, the companies said on Friday, underpinning a future generation of electric cars which, together with hybrids, are expected to account for 30 percent of group sales. Renault-Nissan will aim to deliver more electric vehicles and also make greater use of shared technology and manufacturing processes.

Mitsubishi to join alliance with Honda and Nissan, Nikkei reports

TOKYO — Japan's Mitsubishi Motors is set to join an alliance between Honda Motor and Nissan Motor, creating a tie-up between automakers with combined sales of more than 8 million vehicles, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday. Mitsubishi Motors, which is 34% owned by Nissan, will work with Honda and Nissan to finalize the details of their strategic partnership, Nikkei said, adding the three firms intend to standardize in-vehicle software that controls cars. Mitsubishi Motors declined to comment on the report, while a Nissan spokesperson would only say the report was not based on something either of the companies had announced. Spokespeople for Honda did not respond to a request for comment. The push comes as Nissan, Japan's third biggest automaker, has been steadily losing market share in its two largest markets, the United States and China, which together accounted for half of its global sales in the year to March. On Thursday, the company slashed its annual outlook after heavy discounting in the U.S. almost completely wiped out its first-quarter profit. Nissan and Honda said in March they were considering a strategic partnership to collaborate on producing electric vehicle components and artificial intelligence in automotive software platforms. Mitsubishi Motors is already part of a long-standing alliance with Nissan and France's Renault that the three automakers last year agreed to restructure, aiming for a downsized but more pragmatic and agile partnership. Separate collaboration between Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi Motors could help Japan's automakers cut costs and beef up to battle tough competition in EVs, dominated by companies like China's BYD and Tesla. In China, the world's largest auto market, Japanese brands previously were strong but are now up against domestic automakers that have rapidly increased production and won over consumers with low-priced vehicles loaded with software.