Just got the new copy of wheel mag.

May sales figures
14th place Mitsubishi 380 - 1201 units.

April sales figures
15th place Mitsubishi 380 - 1035 units

Not a huge movement but at least its on the way up.

Just for interest sake:

May - Holdent Comformadore - 1st place 4362 units
April 1st place 3796 units

May - Ford Falcon - 3rd place - 3388 units
April 3rd place - 2563 units

The biggest looser - New Korean sourced Holden Barina - April = 13th , May = 27th place.

Cheers.

Good to see the 380's on the way up.

Out of interest did you also know that MMAL made an operating profit in May?

Also, I think you'll find June's sales will be higher once again.

Just got the new copy of wheel mag.

May sales figures
14th place Mitsubishi 380 - 1201 units.

April sales figures
15th place Mitsubishi 380 - 1035 units

Not a huge movement but at least its on the way up.

Just for interest sake:

May - Holdent Comformadore - 1st place 4362 units
April 1st place 3796 units

May - Ford Falcon - 3rd place - 3388 units
April 3rd place - 2563 units

The biggest looser - New Korean sourced Holden Barina - April = 13th , May = 27th place.

Cheers.



Yeah good news so far for MMAL.
Good to see the buying public starting to see the Korean 'barina' (not so long ago they were actually selling well!!!) for what it is, and not a real replacement for the previous euro barina.

Good to see the 380's on the way up.

Out of interest did you also know that MMAL made an operating profit in May?

Also, I think you'll find June's sales will be higher once again.


Actualy no I didnt. How long since they have made a profit??

Yeah good news so far for MMAL.
Good to see the buying public starting to see the Korean 'barina' (not so long ago they were actually selling well!!!) for what it is, and not a real replacement for the previous euro barina.

Yeah, the publics perception has certainly shown with the Korean sourced Barina but the Korean name surely has to be on the improve.

The Hyandai Getz is still in the top 10 sellers.

Good to see the 380's on the way up.

Out of interest did you also know that MMAL made an operating profit in May?

Also, I think you'll find June's sales will be higher once again.

Actualy no I didnt. How long since they have made a profit??

Here is the link. MMAL hadn't made a profit (previously) for a "long time", but the article doesn't give an exact reference to when MMAL last had a profitable month.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/06/05/1149359676290.html

what about june and july anyone?? 20% increase are winner...

Good on MMAL. In fact I saw two 380's (a base burgundy and gold VRX with aftermarket mags) within metres of each other on the way home last night amongst the increasing amount of 380's I see every day going to and from work. That's the first time I've seen two at the same time on the road.

Yeah we've covered the May results in a previous thread

Here are the results for the others:

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showpost.php?p=524700&postcount=16

Vfacts which is the industry standard for sales figures usually comes out three or four days after month end.

This was the first full month under the new price range I believe. Although sales have increased, the retail margin of the 380 has been reduced, therefore it is quite possible that MMAL's profit figure is worse than before for this month. Simple economics.

hmmm, slowly gathering its selling pace

Hmm, seems every month is improving....Slowly but.

Here's hopeing Toyota, Ford and Holden all have to do mass recalls on their cars due to a sudden case of unexplained spontanious combustion :cool:

Yeah, the publics perception has certainly shown with the Korean sourced Barina but the Korean name surely has to be on the improve.

The Hyandai Getz is still in the top 10 sellers.

As I own a getz,that good news;) But I like to see the 380 get into the top 3 places:pray:

Good to see the 380's on the way up.

Out of interest did you also know that MMAL made an operating profit in May?

Also, I think you'll find June's sales will be higher once again.

That is excellent news. I imagine that the Staff in Adelaide are feeling better about their job security as the 380 is finally gathering momentum. I, as a Magna owner am happy also, as the Wife's car needs replacement this year, and I am going to get a 380 for me, and she can drive the Magna. All MMAL need now, is the contract to help build the new Outlander, and we will be in Business.

I see an average of 8-10 380's on my way to work now. One of the sales team has a VRX in Mawson, and it looks sensational.

Out of interest did you also know that MMAL made an operating profit in May?

It would be worse than April's. MMAL sold 200 more cars, but with a lower retail margin than the 1000 previously sold in April, thus their profit would actually be lower in may than what it would be in April.

May is actually a not-so-flash/towards poor result when you consider that the growth rate of the 380 appears relatively unchanged despite the new discounting.

I was expecting 1500, not 1201.

Yeah good news so far for MMAL.
Good to see the buying public starting to see the Korean 'barina' (not so long ago they were actually selling well!!!) for what it is, and not a real replacement for the previous euro barina.

I had one of the last euro barina's (Opal Corsa) and I found it to be a damn good little car with damn good build quality. Holden had to dump the last Barina (Opal Corsa) version and replace it with the Korean lower quality type Barina (Daewoo) so they could stay in the cheap small car market.

Good to see that Mitsubishi are seeing better sales figures :)

Dave, yeah I totally agree. Also when you consider that April is naturally a slower month for sales (less days, more public holidays etc) it was quite disappointing, and I was also expecting around 1500. When broken down into sales/day, in April there were 47 380's sold per day as compared with May where 45 were sold per day. Minimal difference, but still with this downturn and lower profit margins, a result of 1201 is rather mediocre.

It would be worse than April's. MMAL sold 200 more cars, but with a lower retail margin than the 1000 previously sold in April, thus their profit would actually be lower in may than what it would be in April.

May is actually a not-so-flash/towards poor result when you consider that the growth rate of the 380 appears relatively unchanged despite the new discounting.

I was expecting 1500, not 1201.

MMAL did make an operating profit in May and as I posted previously, an article stated this result. Why yes I agree MMAL profits margins (on the number of cars sold) would have meant MMAL would have made less profit, despite selling more 380's (but remember that discounting would have made the price pratically equal to what it is as the RRP now anyway).

As the article stated a good result for imported MMC made it possible for MMAL to make and operating profit for May. If the 380's sales are higher in June (which they should bloody be) I'm sure MMAL will make a larger profit then May and they will make the second consecutive month of an operating profit; hence, paying a dividend to MMC headquarters in Japan.

By the way. As said previously, this article states that MMAL made an operating profit for may:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/06/05/1149359676290.html

I am starting to see more privately owned 380s around Canberra. Previously, it was only hire cars hired from our airport.

I am starting to see more privately owned 380s around Canberra. Previously, it was only hire cars hired from our airport.

Depending on where you live, you may see an Electro VRX happily communting down the Monaro Hwy everyday. I still get people asking me to put my window down and commenting on how much they like the car/wheels combo and the car in general. I NEVER got that in the SS Commie. The Mrs says it gives me a big head.....cant argue with her there lol

As the article stated a good result for imported MMC made it possible for MMAL to make and operating profit for May. If the 380's sales are higher in June (which they should bloody be) I'm sure MMAL will make a larger profit then May and they will make the second consecutive month of an operating profit; hence, paying a dividend to MMC headquarters in Japan.
I know where your coming from, and I know the 380 was already being discounted before the official price drops. I've just got an incling however that the profit that MMAL has been making is probably more to do with the success of the imports than the domestic brands.


"We had a better month than we expected and were able to return some money to them," Mitsubishi spokesman Kevin Taylor said.

He said May would have been even better but for a shortage of Lancer sedans and some other models.

MMAL must be operating pretty close to the break even point with the 380 by now.

YAY.... The 380 has moved up 2more places upto 12th place for the month of June.. sales are up by another 300 compared to last month.... 1569 for this month...
Lets hope this is a continuing trend as im sure it will be...

If anything the release of the new Commodore will increase 380 sales just based on holdens price and the fact that there isn't A/C as standard!!! :nuts: WTF!!!???
ohh and dont get me started on the interior of there performance modeles.. Such a 380 rip off its not funny!!!

That's an awesome amount!
Good to see it on the rise!

Interesting article for Mitsubishi on the carpoint web site....
Worth the read..... http://www.carpoint.com.au/car-review/1933184.aspx (resale, stock levels so on)

Interesting article for Mitsubishi on the carpoint web site....
Worth the read..... http://www.carpoint.com.au/car-review/1933184.aspx (resale, stock levels so on)
Yep, they're really pulling their finger out now and this new boss is getting stuff done. It's a very positive future for MMAL. Now all they need to do is grant my wish and make me a 3.8 AWD Twin Turbo Ralliart with a 6 speed manual for under $60k. That'd probably persuade me over an Evo.

Interesting article for Mitsubishi on the carpoint web site....
Worth the read..... http://www.carpoint.com.au/car-review/1933184.aspx (resale, stock levels so on)

Thanks for posting that. I'm glad to see that the new boss (Rob McEniry) is really making an effort (along with who else is working with him at MMAL) to get things done. He is doing a good job so far and has acheived alot in such a short amount of time. I reckon that Mitsubishi is well on the road to recovery and with all the new products coming out (and some of which have just been released) their sales should improve even more.

Go Mitsubishi!! :D :D :D

Unfortunately the 380 has dropped to 30 on the top sellers list. And with new vehicles by Holden and Toyota and an upgrade for the Ford Falcon in the next couple of months, Mitsubishi must be worried. :confused:

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=19223&vf=12

Seems like toyota is doing something right!
Plus the statesmans only dropped off of first place because the new model is coming out next month.
I think that the new mitsubishi boss has done alot of good for the company, he's taken action and i believe we'll see mitsubishi coming back in sales towards the end of the year/next year with these new models coming out.

Seems like toyota is doing something right!
Plus the statesmans only dropped off of first place because the new model is coming out next month.
I think that the new mitsubishi boss has done alot of good for the company, he's taken action and i believe we'll see mitsubishi coming back in sales towards the end of the year/next year with these new models coming out.

Yeah I agree. They have atleast 3 new products coming out in the next few months (Colt Cabriolet, new Pajero, new Outlander) along with some next year (4 cyl 380, new 380VRX, Outlander V6, new Lancer and probably some others I havn't mentioned).

I'm pretty sure sales will bounce back in the next few months as people realise that Holden and Toyota will be less likely to discount their product as it is new in the market place. A 4 cylinder Camry costs more then a V6 380, the 380 uses slightly more fuel, looks better, has a better warranty and has more features. The price gap is too significant for many to pass up; I just hope that MMAL bring this point across. For example, they could advertise the 380 at $29,990 on TV and say that the price gap between the SII 380ES (auto) and the VE Omega is $36,490 by the time you add on features to make the Omega and equivalent car it's more like $9 - $10k, which is what 3 -4 years of petrol? If they emphasise this people will realise how signifcant the price gap really is. I mean who would pass up the oppurtunity when sooooo many people are *****ing about petrol prices? If I was in the market for a new car I would definitely pick the 380 (not just based on the price though).

Or better yet increase the price of the 380 by $5000 and offer it with $5000 free fuel. That'll fool quite alot of people and it's still cheaper than the VE.

Or better yet increase the price of the 380 by $5000 and offer it with $5000 free fuel. That'll fool quite alot of people and it's still cheaper than the VE.

Wouldn't it be better to say for the price of the ve,you have $5000 over for petrol when you buy the 380.:shock:

Wouldn't it be better to say for the price of the ve,you have $5000 over for petrol when you buy the 380.:shock:
No people are stupid they won't get it unless you throw in the word "Free". Fuel expense is a pretty common topic at the table, if someone says well my brand new car comes with $5000 free fuel, they'll all be like :shock: .

Or better yet increase the price of the 380 by $5000 and offer it with $5000 free fuel. That'll fool quite alot of people and it's still cheaper than the VE.
The re-alignment of the 380's prices has already changed once, the market won't withstand another change, you'd be in effect over-inflating the price of a 380 and I really do doubt that $5,000 worth of free fuel wouldn't set alarm bells ringing - it looks pretty desperate.

The consumer would actually be out of pocket on the fuel offer once you consider the impact of state taxes and registration costs for the transfer of the car at the inflated price.

Additionally, you would have to consider the risks for the provision of fuel - who carries the liability, who will be the supplier, under what terms will the fuel be supplied, who will be responsible if the price of fuel sky-rockets.

If you can't sell the car with a 5/10 year warranty at the price it is now, then there is a fundamental flaw in either/or/both the buying market and the car itself.

sales took a dive this month, however most of it can be contributed to buyers "waiting to see" what the new VE commodore was like before committing. It will be very interesting watching 380 sales over the next few months because ford, toyota, mitsubishi and holden alike all believe that ALOT of potential large car buyers have been "holding off" buying their new car untill all the new models are released. Once the Toyota Aurion is released they believe the large car segment in australia will really start to kick into top gear. Both Camry and Magna sales boomed after the VT commodore's launch in 1997.. lets hope history repeats!!

Seen this on the web http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20286147-2702,00.html Not good.

Quote:
"The official Holden launch comes as sales figures for the Mitsubishi 380 - built in Adelaide's southern suburbs - sink to further lows and fail to meet revised monthly targets. "

Is that relating to July or August's sales. I take it that relates to July as August isn't yet over and I doubt anyone would know (other then people at MMAL) would know sales figures.

I'm just worried, because if they are talking about August's sales, that means they were significantly lower then July's which were also quite low.

As RJ25 said in his last post, let's hope that 380 sales rapidly increase in the next few months as the large car segment re-gains interest.


sales took a dive this month, however most of it can be contributed to buyers "waiting to see" what the new VE commodore was like before committing. It will be very interesting watching 380 sales over the next few months because ford, toyota, mitsubishi and holden alike all believe that ALOT of potential large car buyers have been "holding off" buying their new car untill all the new models are released. Once the Toyota Aurion is released they believe the large car segment in australia will really start to kick into top gear. Both Camry and Magna sales boomed after the VT commodore's launch in 1997.. lets hope history repeats!!

Hey, If you're talking about July sales figures like everyone else in this thread please specify.
If your talking about August sales figures (so far) where'd you get the info from?

Looking at the price of fuel actually dropping over the past week or so for the first time in months must be music to the large car manufacturers ears. Australian motorists are a fickle bunch and with the price of fuel tipped to go as "low" as $1.15 per litre by Christmas it may just be enough to make the general public rethink their next new car purchase.

What that means for MMAL remains to be seen but Holden must be bouyed with the fuel price prospects.

Augusts sales figures obviously aren't in yet, and may not be in till next week, largely because August still hasn't finished. Still one more day for a few hundred 380's to be registered! (here's hoping:D)

yep i meant the latest figures that are currently available, obviously august isn't over yet, so that is july

Augusts sales figures obviously aren't in yet, and may not be in till next week, largely because August still hasn't finished. Still one more day for a few hundred 380's to be registered! (here's hoping:D)

Tuesday or Wednesday next week the vFacts data will be released for August 2006.

FF

Interesting stats in today's Drive.com.au regarding private versus fleet sales in Oz. It says that car makers share private sales data among themselves but have an agreement that they don't publicly release the numbers.

For the 380, they're stating 87% is fleet sales. Apparently that translates to just 956 private buyers so far in all of 2006.

If true, that's really a shame. That's a very small amount of people lobbing up of their own accord at a dealer and actually privately purchasing a 380.

Interesting stats in today's Drive.com.au regarding private versus fleet sales in Oz. It says that car makers share private sales data among themselves but have an agreement that they don't publicly release the numbers.

For the 380, they're stating 87% is fleet sales. Apparently that translates to just 956 private buyers so far in all of 2006.

If true, that's really a shame. That's a very small amount of people lobbing up of their own accord at a dealer and actually privately purchasing a 380.
On face value I agree it does seem disappointing, but that figure of 87% includes all forms of leasing including novated leases etc. So there's still a large element of "choice" involved.

Someone may want to buy, say, a 380 Series 2 SX or VRX (I do...:P), but thanks to their work conditions they are able to purchase their desired vehicle through more feasible means, hence the increasingly popular lease.

Still it's greater than the 75% figure MMAL had forecast for the 380 upon release, and there are blindingly obvious reasons (that we all know of) as to why this is.

380 has put the final nail on mist australia coffin

380 has put the final nail on mist australia coffin

:naughty: There is no way of knowing that. It isn't the only model experiencing a decline in sales.

380 has put the final nail on mist australia coffin

oh blah blah blah

you really dont understand business if you think this.. companies like MMC dont invest hundreds of millions in a company only to say "oh well its failed" only 18 months into a 6 year plan. So sick of the doomstayers!! :rant: :rant:

Veradaboy is absolutely right, a large portion of those "fleet" sales are actually people salary sacraficing through their employers. Theres lots of choice involved in that as i can say from personal experience that when you salary sacrafice you can basically buy any car on the market that you can afford, its just like buying a car normally as far as choice is concerned

Forgetting about salary sacrifice and all the rest of it, caution needs to be thrown to the wind about just how many of these cars will get dumped - and mean the word dumped, not placed, on the second hand car market when the lease is expired. If people start fire-saleing the ex fleet 380s then resale will be completely shot.

Forgetting about salary sacrifice and all the rest of it, caution needs to be thrown to the wind about just how many of these cars will get dumped - and mean the word dumped, not placed, on the second hand car market when the lease is expired. If people start fire-saleing the ex fleet 380s then resale will be completely shot.

and how is that any different to the massive amounts of ex-fleet commodores, falcons and camrys that get dumped onto the used car market? its almost like some people on this forum try and go out of their way to find problems for the 380... im tellin ya its not as bad as people seem to think! Its sales had been steadily growing month on month, last month being the only blemish and that was due to the VE commodores impending release, even falcon and commodore sales where down last month too as a result. Don't underestimate the importance of the commodore on the aussie car landscape, even if you dont like the car historical evidence suggests that the large car market basically stops when a new commodore release is impending

OK!

Excluding reasons that currently are unforeseen, if MMAL shut their manufacturing operations before 2011, I will attend the major national AMC meet for that year NAKED!

MMC are going through a global revitalisation program, which includes Tonsley Park. After a $250million investment in the plant alone, together with another $350million on the 380, closing the Adelaide operations would seriously hinder MMC's plans to revitalise themselves.

Although it doesn't help when holden boy McEniry says he reckons that VE is a "fantastic product"...:doubt:


380 has put the final nail on mist australia coffin
Yeah...:roll:

oh blah blah blah

you really dont understand business if you think this.. companies like MMC dont invest hundreds of millions in a company only to say "oh well its failed" only 18 months into a 6 year plan. So sick of the doomstayers!! :rant: :rant:

Veradaboy is absolutely right, a large portion of those "fleet" sales are actually people salary sacraficing through their employers. Theres lots of choice involved in that as i can say from personal experience that when you salary sacrafice you can basically buy any car on the market that you can afford, its just like buying a car normally as far as choice is concerned

a 6 year plan ay...hmmm, well at the moment they seemed to be failling to go with this 6 year plan, they have revised prices, downgraded the projected production and still falling short, i hope the sales pick up to the break even point at least,

a 6 year plan ay...hmmm, well at the moment they seemed to be failling to go with this 6 year plan, they have revised prices, downgraded the projected production and still falling short, i hope the sales pick up to the break even point at least,
Just to repeat what RJL25 wrote:


you really dont understand business if you think this.. companies like MMC dont invest hundreds of millions in a company only to say "oh well its failed" only 18 months into a 6 year plan. So sick of the doomstayers!!

MMC are going through a global revitalisation program, which includes Tonsley Park. After a $250million investment in the plant alone, together with another $350million on the 380, closing the Adelaide operations would seriously hinder MMC's plans to revitalise themselves.Yeah I don't think their going to close down anytime soon but this current direction of moving towards skeleton crew production is becoming a worry. With all that investment in Tonsley, I'd like to see it produce other models as well as the 380.

a 6 year plan ay...hmmm, well at the moment they seemed to be failling to go with this 6 year plan, they have revised prices, downgraded the projected production and still falling short, i hope the sales pick up to the break even point at least,

thanks for being a perfect example of what im talking about.. have no idea about business! The whole point of a business plan is to first create a plan, then implement a plan, and them monitor the plan and MODIFY if necessary! Modifying a plan doesn't change the plan or mean that the plan will be ditched, its simply re-alligning the plan to suit revised sales targets. MMAL would have come up with the revised plan before the 380 was even released! Its called a contingency plan! They would have said "if it falls short of sales targets we will do this this and that"

Go read the MMC revitilisation plan (as i have) and one of their goals was to utilise un-used capacity in plants (such as tonsley park) by finding partnerships with other organisations, and MMAL has suceeded spectacularly with this in their new found relationship with proton. Once that deal kicks in MMAL will be easily hitting their original sales targets, just with a portion of exports as well as domestic sale. Add to this the expected upturn in sales created by the revitilised large car segment, plus the increase in sales the impending 4cyl model will have domestically.. 380 will be hitting the original targets of 2500 per month without too much trouble. Maybe it will be 1500 local sales and 1000 exports or something, but that doesn't really make too much difference as MMAL would be making sure they make the same amount of profit (actually probably more) on their exports as they do with their domestic sales

alrighty, do you know a link were i can study it, cause i wouldn't mind having a much better understanding, yea that proton deal is very good

go to the www.mitsubishi-motors.com/ go to global products, then find the link to press releases. I think the original revitilisation plan document was released in 2004 so looks around there. It will take some hunting around (i spent about half an hour trying to find it myself) but it is there and its worth a read

MMAL has suceeded spectacularly with this in their new found relationship with proton. Once that deal kicks in MMAL will be easily hitting their original sales targets, just with a portion of exports as well as domestic sale. Mayalsian deal was for approx 8000 cars maximum per annum. Biggest question I have is why Proton is planning to import the 380 to replace one of their aging models rather than Mitsubishi Malaysia importing the 380.


MMAL would have come up with the revised plan before the 380 was even released! Ideally you wish to stick with the original business plan as much as possible as that is the business plan that usually has the best targets and obviously is the business plan originally signed off by head management. What MMAL did and as-so-far has pulled off was the ability to quickly address market conditions and to manipulate its production management to meet those goals.

Whilst they appear to be stable enough in the immediate short term, they will need to re-address their sales forces and develop a new strategy going forward. Yes MMAL is currently making a profit, but majority of this profit has everything to do with it's profit margins on the the imported cars

Mayalsian deal was for approx 8000 cars maximum per annum. Biggest question I have is why Proton is planning to import the 380 to replace one of their aging models rather than Mitsubishi Malaysia importing the 380.

obviously proton thinks there is a market for the car, not knowing the malaysian car market i can't even assume a reason as to why proton would be interested in the car but the malaysia mitsubishi importer isnt. The 8000 max cars is for the fully imported V6 models which will be sold under proton initially, however later on they will be selling the 4cyl version of the car to proton in kit form, therefore the car will be technically manufactured in malaysia thus negating the malaysian law on the maximum amount of cars allowed to be sold in malaysia as imports (which obviously is 8000) so more then 8000 sales will result, especially considering proton is also thinking about selling it in india.


Ideally you wish to stick with the original business plan as much as possible as that is the business plan that usually has the best targets and obviously is the business plan originally signed off by head management.

well obviously but your a pretty crap businessman if you dont recongnise the possibility that the original plan won't work and therefore contingency plans are built in to the original business plan incase they are required. The original 380 business plan would have included the revised sales targets MMAL are currently working off as a contingency plan to be activated should a certain number of variables fall into place. When these variables did infact fall into place MMAL where able to simply enguage one of their contingency plans without having to go through the (very) long process of doing up an all new business plan. This is why MMAL where so quick to react to the lower then expected sales of the 380, because they had already, in effect, reacted to it as much as 12-18 months before it even went on sale! You would be a pretty foolish businessman to invest something like $600m in your australian arm of your company without recongnising the possibility of it being unsuccessfull and therefore coming up with contingency plans

The original 380 business plan would have included the revised sales targets MMAL are currently working off as a contingency plan to be activated should a certain number of variables fall into place. When these variables did infact fall into place MMAL where able to simply enguage one of their contingency plans without having to go through the (very) long process of doing up an all new business plan. This is why MMAL where so quick to react to the lower then expected sales of the 380, because they had already, in effect, reacted to it as much as 12-18 months before it even went on sale!
No they didnt have their current business plan in place before the launch of the 380. All their information up to launch date was suggesting their 3000 or so per month break even target, and they priced the 380 at what they thought would provide a reasonable return, packaged with the original marketing campaign.

What resulted was the re-adjustment in price of the 380, the dumping of the LS and the introduction of the SX.

Thus their current business plan to what was planned 12-18 months before launch is entirely different - the launch of the 380 was not text book stuff, it was a complete disaster.

No they didnt have their current business plan in place before the launch of the 380. All their information up to launch date was suggesting their 3000 or so per month break even target, and they priced the 380 at what they thought would provide a reasonable return, packaged with the original marketing campaign.

What resulted was the re-adjustment in price of the 380, the dumping of the LS and the introduction of the SX.

Thus their current business plan to what was planned 12-18 months before launch is entirely different - the launch of the 380 was not text book stuff, it was a complete disaster.
Well that's an understatement. Truth be told though that 12-18 months before 380's release date the original sales forecast was for 3500 units per month/42,000 per year. This was all before the final design was signed off (it looked like TL Magna!:shock:). Thankfully at the time they realised how foolish this was and revised it down to 2500/month.

Even after 380 was released the forecast has changed several times: down to 2200/month, then 2000/month, now 1500/month. Mr McEniry, Lord of Indecisionville.

The original business plan was to have 2 engines (168kW/175kW) and 2 transmissions (4sp/5sp). Come early 2005, shock horror, development dollars were like gold, so goodbye 168kW V6 and 4sp auto. But they also said goodbye to a planned 6sp manual which would have been included on GT. So even in product development their plans continued to change.

Tom Phillips had planned to start the base 380 price from $31,990(man)/$33,490(auto). MMC Japan, in their infinite wisdom they're so famous for, changes Tom's plan and ordered MMAL to start the 380 $2500 higher.

Not only was 380's launch a disaster, you could say it was so from day 1.:doubt:

I don't think Mitsu has been too wide of the mark.
The original premise that Australians would graduate away from larger cars to mid size family cars has been correct. The 380 was designed on the smaller Galant platform as a deliberate decision to capture this market.

It may not have started to happen as soon as they thought.

The original premise that Australians would graduate away from larger cars to mid size family cars has been correct. The 380 was designed on the smaller Galant platform as a deliberate decision to capture this market.

It may have been designed on the smaller galant,but the 380 is an large car:nuts:

Correct.
Just like the Tardis!lol

Bigger inside than my previous Verada.

I don't think Mitsu has been too wide of the mark.
The original premise that Australians would graduate away from larger cars to mid size family cars has been correct. The 380 was designed on the smaller Galant platform as a deliberate decision to capture this market.

It may not have started to happen as soon as they thought.
The decision for MMAL to base it's next generation of car on the US Galant platform (PS41) was locked into place late 2002/early 2003, well before fuel prices were such an issue, and well before large cars lost their place as the highest selling segment. At the time a large 6-cylinder FWD sedan was, believe it or not, the most logical and certainly feasible option for Tonsley Park... if only for want of the benefit of hindsight.

dave you still missed my point.. that was the ORIGINAL plan yes, but the ORIGINAL plan would have had contingency plans put in place. IF the sales didnt reach expectations then CONTINGENCY plans go in place. You can't just cut back your output overnight, months and months of planning has to go in place to make that happen, it was all dont before launch as a CONTINGENCY plan. Yes the re-allignment of the model mix happened afterwards, however thats actually quite seperate to the overall business case for tonsley park, which is what im talking about. Im not talking specifically about the 380, i am talking about MMAL and tonsley park's business case. You simply cannot have a business plan without built in contingency plans and when sales faltered the contingency plans of lowering production was simply put in place. Its all very straight forward simple business stuff mate

Im not talking specifically about the 380, i am talking about MMAL and tonsley park's business case. Yeah your jumping all over the place in what yor defining as business plans. Before or after the 380s launch, the argument is pretty trivial, their business plan contingencies for the plant in a fall in sales have been following a pretty logical path of what any management team would do when faced with idle capacity at any plant. There's been no rabbit being pulled out of the hat as yet.

Never doubting these guys wouldn't have some plan in place all the way down to an exit strategy - any plan is all well and good however until the external forces have been taken into account

Yeah your jumping all over the place in what yor defining as business plans. Before or after the 380s launch, the argument is pretty trivial, their business plan contingencies for the plant in a fall in sales have been following a pretty logical path of what any management team would do when faced with idle capacity at any plant. There's been no rabbit being pulled out of the hat as yet.

Never doubting these guys wouldn't have some plan in place all the way down to an exit strategy - any plan is all well and good however until the external forces have been taken into account

i think we finally agree, and your right the argument is pretty trivial. Fact is 380 has been strugling but it has been slowly improving, hopefully there is a more long term plan to get it back on track. Its a freekin bloody good car to drive! it deserves more success