SWOT analysis of Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi Motors is a company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The sixth biggest automaker in Japan and the sixteenth in the world. Mitsubishi Motors has been involved in both cars and heavy vehicles. The company has an annual turnover of 1.91 trillion JPY and has the presence in all categories of cars such as sedans, hatchbacks, and SUV’s.

Some of their top products include Mitsubishi Pajero, Lancer, Eclipse and Outlander.The company sells around 926,000 units of cars every year and sells them across 160 countries of the world. The company manufactures cars in 5 factories located in 3 countries each of which is fully owned subsidiaries and they also co-own another 10 factories where cars are manufactured in various locations.

The company has also been lately involved in research on alternate energy vehicles like hybrid cars and electric cars. Some of their recent electric cars have received the favorable response from the market.

Strengths in The SWOT analysis of Mitsubishi Motors

Strengths are defined as what each business does best in its gamut of operations which can give it an upper hand over its competitors. The following are the strengths of Mitsubishi :

• Customer-centric: Mitsubishi Motors has always been highly focused on customers. The company has always been focused on the customer’s voice and regularly takes feedback and the consciousness of the company is also a result of that.
• History: The company was first set up in the year 1870 and ever since then the company has been involved in the creation of new designs that are in tune with the current demands of the market. The rich history of the company has been responsible for the innovative spirit that the company has displayed.
• Positioning: Mitsubishi has positioned their vehicles as being both safe and durable. The company competes primarily in segments that need powerful and bigger cars and these cars have been rated high on performance. The positioning of the brands has always been backed by the right advertisements.
• Attention to detail: The company gives a lot of importance to detail and has always been focused on the value aspect of every part to ensure that they come at the minimum possible cost. The company also ensures that research is conducted to justify every new addition and the cost that needs to be shelled out for them.

Weaknesses in The SWOT analysis of Mitsubishi Motors

Weaknesses are used to refer to areas where the business or the brand needs improvement. Some of the key weaknesses of Mitsubishi are:

• Ethics of operations: Mitsubishi Motors have got into serious issues regarding misinterpretation of their emissions data. The company admitted that the fuel economy test data that it had submitted was false.
• Leadership challenges: The company has been facing critical challenges on leadership and there have been a lot of changes in the top management of the company which has led to a lot of uncertainty amongst the employees.
• Lack of presence in smaller cars: Most of Mitsubishi’s products are in the sedan or the SUV category. The company has minimal or no presence in hatchback or crossovers. This is a category where the demand has been growing in the emerging economies and it is critical that the company addresses this segment.
• Poor after sales service: The company has faced a lot of criticism regarding the lack of after-sales service centers in most countries. The customers also face issues in the availability of spares in most regions both of which act against the company.
• Suspension of numerous models: After the Volkswagen scandal, Mitsubishi had come out stating fudging of fuel economy data. This resulted in the company suspending a lot of their models some of which were money spinners for the company.

Opportunities in The SWOT analysis of Mitsubishi Motors

Opportunities refer to those avenues in the environment that surrounds the business on which it can capitalize to increase its returns. Some of the opportunities include:

• Demand for hybrid cars: Hybrid cars and green cars have suddenly become in vogue since there has been a lot of talk on global warming and environmental concerns.
• Demand for smaller cars: The number of customers for small cars has been growing with the increase in the number of working women and increase of average family income. Many households are also willing to invest in a second car which increases the demand for smaller cars.
• Focus on emerging markets: Automobile sales are expected to grow in the emerging markets like China and India. The number of cars that will be sold in these market is expected to multiply in the next decade by 10 to 15 % which is a huge demand.

Threats in The SWOT analysis of Mitsubishi Motors

Threats are those factors in the environment which can be detrimental to the growth of the business. Some of the threats include:

• Competition: The company faces the immense pressure of competition from Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai.GM etc.
• Increasing costs: The company is facing a lot of threats from increasing costs such a fuel and material prices.