Bid to bolster Magna sales

MITSUBISHI Australia boss Tom Phillips has delivered a simple message to his disgruntled dealer network: "We cannot afford to give up on Magna".

Sales of MMAL’s stalwart locally-built car have slumped in 2004, with combined Magna/Verada 590 units behind last year’s 2731 total for the first two months of the year.

The results are a key reason why Mitsubishi has slipped to sixth on the sales ladder behind Nissan and Mazda this year with a 5.9 per cent share.

The drop in Magna/Verada sales is being put down to a number of reasons by Mr Phillips, including:

• TL Magna’s controversial 2003 re-styling job by global design chief Olivier Boulay.
  
  
• The marketing message at launch which portrayed the Magna as a family car, when the promotion of sports models was the way chosen by all other domestic manufacturers to push their new models.
  
  
• Magna’s age. The current body shape – with only minor styling alterations – has been around since 1996.
  
  

With 18 months to go until the all-new PS platform-based replacement is launched, Mr Phillips is very much aware the current Magna has a critical job to do for the company.

For a start, 30,000 of them have to be built this year for the Tonsley Park plant to break even.

In Australia, the company has revised its Magna sales target for 2004 down to 20,000 from 30,000 at launch last July, and is also shooting for 12,000 exports, which adds up to a total of 32,000 cars.

To achieve his domestic sales target, Mr Phillips has revealed a series of measures to bolster Magna/Verada sales:

• The launch of limited edition Magna Solara and VR-X Ralliart models.
  
  
• The mid-year update of Magna with colour-coded headlight surrounds to try and improve the car’s looks.
  
  
• The paring back of the range, deleting some unprofitable lines from the range.
  
  
• The appointment of a new advertising agency, Clemenger BBDO, to replace Young & Rubicam.
  
  
• Fleet pricing revamp last December.
  
  

Mr Phillips unveiled his plans and strategy to the Mitsubishi dealer body during a whirlwind national tour in February following the departure of Bill Pike from the position of executive vice-president, sales and marketing.

The poor relationship between Mitsubishi dealers – particularly in Sydney – and Mr Pike has been given as another key reason for the disappointing level of Magna sales.

"I hope they (dealers) are seeing that we are recognising we made some mistakes," Mr Phillips said.

"We can’t change what Magna is but we shouldn’t bloody slit our throats because of what Magna is either. It is still a very good car.

"Taking our government and rental and company cars, we are asking dealers to sell 15,000 cars. I don’t think 15,000 cars in a 900,000-plus market with revitalised advertising is an impossible task. It’s not something we will relax on, we will be at it every single day."