Mitsubishi Mirage monthly sales, US & Canada, 2013-2023 (projected 7000/yr for U.S.)

[MetroMPG]

Overall, the company did not do as well as the US in Q3:

The company delivered 4,425 vehicles between the months of July to September ... a 32 per cent decrease over same period last year.

https://www.mitsubishi-motors-pr.ca/...uarter-results

Mirage also didn't do well, with just 287 deliveries, or 96 on average per month.

COME ON, PEOPLE!! YOU HAVE TO KEEP BUYING NEW STICKSHIFT MIRAGES SO I CAN BUY THEM USED IN 5 YEARS FOR $3000!! DON'T LET ME DOWN!

[MetroMPG]

	Q4	Q4	Year	Year
	2020	2019	2020	2019
Mirage	4,844	5,789	19,136	26,966

It was a rough year for the company:

... first year-over-year decrease in U.S. sales since 2012, breaking a string of seven-straight years of sales growth. For the full calendar year, the company reported sales of 87,387, a decrease of 28 percent. For the fourth quarter of the year, MMNA sold 14,770 vehicles, a decrease of 42 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

https://media.mitsubishicars.com/en-...ear-2020-sales

Notably: company Q4 sales were worse (-42%) than Q3 (-30%).

Looking just at the Mirage, Q4 sales were "only" down -16% vs. Oct-Dec 2019. That implies people appreciate value when times are uncertain. Year over year, though, it's worse at -29%.

I wonder how the Chevy Spark did? Gonna look that up next.

[MetroMPG]

Wow - Spark sales actually INCREASED, year over year:

2020: 33,478 (+7%)
2019: 31,281

That's its 4th straight year of sales growth, but not its best year (2014 @ 39,159).

Looking just at Q4, it declined a little bit vs. 2019:

2020: 10,443 (-5%)
2019: 11,016

Overall, GM sales rose 4.8% in Q4, but fell -11.8% for the year vs. 2019.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/chev...sales-numbers/

[Top_Fuel]

Just thinking out-loud...

I wonder if a weak supply of 2020 Mirages (possibly due to COVID-related plant shutdowns early last year) may have negatively impacted 2020 sales.

Based on what I was seeing at my local dealers and surfing dealer websites, it seemed like shipments of new 2020s stopped at some point in the year...maybe earlier than usual. Dealers didn't seem to have a huge supply of 2020 Mirages going into the 4th quarter. You would expect to see a lot of leftover 2020s right now, but that's not what I'm seeing locally. White Bear (who typically has 75+ Mirages in stock) only has 36 in stock right now...and only 8 are 2020 models.

I also noticed that Mirage rebates in 2020 generally weren't that great. Maybe that was a result of a lack of supply? Why discount a 2020 if dealer stock is already low there's nothing coming in to replace them?

I did notice that the first 2021s are finally showing up at my local dealers.

[Subcompact Culture]

So before people go all doom-and-gloom here, every automaker in the U.S. market except Alfa Romeo (+1.59%), Mazda (+0.19%), and Volvo (+1.76%) were down in 2020. Alfa has, what, two cars for sale these days and moved a total of 18,585 cars—less than all of the Mirages sold. So it was a bad year across the board.

While Mitsubishi as a whole was down about 28%, Nissan was down 32%, Infiniti was down 32%, Fiat was down 53%, and Dodge was down 37%. While it was the first year since 2012 in which Mitsubishi experienced a sales decline, it wasn't just them by any stretch. Here's hoping for a better 2021.

[Mark]

Just thinking out-loud...

I wonder if a weak supply of 2020 Mirages (possibly due to COVID-related plant shutdowns early last year) may have negatively impacted 2020 sales.

Based on what I was seeing at my local dealers and surfing dealer websites, it seemed like shipments of new 2020s stopped at some point in the year...maybe earlier than usual. Dealers didn't seem to have a huge supply of 2020 Mirages going into the 4th quarter. You would expect to see a lot of leftover 2020s right now, but that's not what I'm seeing locally. White Bear (who typically has 75+ Mirages in stock) only has 36 in stock right now...and only 8 are 2020 models.

I also noticed that Mirage rebates in 2020 generally weren't that great. Maybe that was a result of a lack of supply? Why discount a 2020 if dealer stock is already low there's nothing coming in to replace them?

I did notice that the first 2021s are finally showing up at my local dealers.

White Bear offered the 2020 ES manual for $10,000, but only for a brief time last summer. You shared that ad recently. If someone qualified for a couple extra rebates, they may have been able to buy a new Mirage for a bit less than that. In recent months, nothing has been anything close to that.

White Bear is currently listing two 2021 ES manuals (no pics) for $13,565 (after $2,000 dealer discount). Personally, I wouldn't pay that much for a new Mirage. I rather buy a low mileage 2017-19 ES manual for under $10,000.

[Mark]

So before people go all doom-and-gloom here, every automaker in the U.S. market except Alfa Romeo (+1.59%), Mazda (+0.19%), and Volvo (+1.76%) were down in 2020. Alfa has, what, two cars for sale these days and moved a total of 18,585 cars—less than all of the Mirages sold. So it was a bad year across the board.

While Mitsubishi as a whole was down about 28%, Nissan was down 32%, Infiniti was down 32%, Fiat was down 53%, and Dodge was down 37%. While it was the first year since 2012 in which Mitsubishi experienced a sales decline, it wasn't just them by any stretch. Here's hoping for a better 2021.

I agree! Hopefully, this past year is not much of an indicator for the future.

If you exclude the Outlander PHEV, Mitsubishi's newest addition to their line up (Eclipse Cross) is their worst seller. I would be disappointed in that! Rather than revised the Eclipse Cross, I would have dropped it & gone in a different direction.

What has been making the automotive news this week has been a more affordable Outlander Sport trim level. I really do think there are some who would embrace more affordable offerings of new vehicles, but I may be wrong?

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2...arts-at-22090/

https://www.slashgear.com/2021-mitsu...0995-05653457/

[Subcompact Culture]

I agree! Hopefully, this past year is not much of an indicator for the future.

If you exclude the Outlander PHEV, Mitsubishi's newest addition to their line up (Eclipse Cross) is their worst seller. I would be disappointed in that! Rather than revised the Eclipse Cross, I would have dropped it & gone in a different direction.

What has been making the automotive news this week has been a more affordable Outlander Sport trim level. I really do think there are some who would embrace more affordable offerings of new vehicles, but I may be wrong?

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2...arts-at-22090/

https://www.slashgear.com/2021-mitsu...0995-05653457/

Problem is, if they drop it, what are they going to replace it with?

Delica D5? - Too weird. No way it'd sell in the U.S.
Pajero? - Too old and is being discontinued anyway.
Triton? - Chicken tax!
Xpander? - Maybe, it's also pretty weird and probably too small for most CUV buyers.

I don't think the revised Eclilpse Cross is going to take it out of "flop" territory. I spent a week with one when they first came out. It was perfectly fine and adequate. Arguably, the best modern Mitsubishi interior in 10+ years. I don't know if it was the Aztek comparisons or what, but people just don't like it. Revising the hatchback isn't going to flip the switch for people to rush to buy them. I think the name was a poor choice, too.

[MetroMPG]

I don't know if it was the Aztek comparisons or what

Well it seems that hit a sore spot with Mitsu, or else it's just a coincidence they redesigned the back end.

[Subcompact Culture]

Well it seems that hit a sore spot with Mitsu, or else it's just a coincidence they redesigned the back end.

This is a very good point.

I do often think about the Delica coming over. No company is currently offering a van that could be turned into an AWD camper, sans a Ford Transit or a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter—they're big dollars. I wonder if Mitsubishi brought the Delica over and marketed it to the delivery crowd, like they do with the Ram Pro Master City, Nissan NV, and Ford Transit Connect, if they could compete with that? It might be viable. However, I don't think the Delica is made in left-drive configuration.

One thing I did think about was the Pajero Sport. It looks modern and has a modern interior. Also, there is a left-hand-drive version available. I think this would a very good fit in the U.S., but would need to be federalized.