Mitsubishi plant to close at the end March

[charged]

^^^^^^^^^^^^ what the title says, feel sorry for the workers but it was inevitable with the lack of interest for the 380

AdelaideNow... Mitsubishi's Adelaide factory will close at the end of March

[IBrake4Rainbows]

....Bummer.

Thats not entirely a shock, but it's still upsetting I'm sure for all those involved.

Sorry guys

[fisetdavid26]

Sad news...

Losing a job and all your hard-earned advantages is one of the worst thing that can happen in someone's life IMO.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

This situation is fortunate because all workers are being properly paid out - both entitlements and a redundancy. The company was smart enough to realise when they'd hit the stage where They couldn't profitably make cars AND pay there workers, so chose to do the latter.

[SlickHolden]

It's always been inevitable which is a shame, Feel sorry for the guys that knew this was coming for many years but worked there guts out..

Just need to know where they stand with cars now? What will we be getting now?.

Shame to the 380 by all accounts was a very good car, People it seems didn't like it or were scared more of the rumours that are now founded?.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

The biggest issue with the 380, as I see it, was that it was a car which only ever ran in the upper middle of it's class, and as the other models got updated and changed, the 380 was stuck in one place.....and thus got overtaken

[Blue Supra]

Sucks, was just there. Shouldve taken the tour while i had the chance.

Best wished to all the families. At least theyre getting proper payouts.

[charged]

The biggest issue with the 380, as I see it, was that it was a car which only ever ran in the upper middle of it's class, and as the other models got updated and changed, the 380 was stuck in one place.....and thus got overtaken

They seem to extend their model runs a fair bit, sad to see them go, hopefully Mitsubishi wil start importing some more entertaining cars(RWD-AWD) but only time will tell. The will get a better margin off the imports and the Tonsley Park complex wont be killing their bottom line. Good to see all the workers getting their entitilments. SA is doing fairly well on a economic front so hopefully the workers can gain employment. There is mining companies crying out for skilled labour.

[motorsportnerd]

Its a real shame that this long, slow death of Mitsubishi in Australia had to happen. I feel sorry for all the guys who will be out of work and looking for jobs.

I guess the Mitsubishi 380 will eventually become something of a classic in a similar way to the old P76. Real shame. The car is much, much better than it is given credit for.

How long do we give the other three manufacturers that are left in Australia? I'd say Holden and particularly Toyota are in the best financial position to stay. I'm worried that if the Orion Falcon doesn't sell well enough that Ford will pull up stumps before the the 2nd line to build the Focus comes on stream in 2012.

[SlickHolden]

I'm hoping that FoMoCo gets the falcon into some country's around the world so a good part of the sales are exports, Which then hopefully keeps it home for the longer term.

Changing motors was smart saves money and development time.

[fpv_gtho]

The biggest issue with the 380, as I see it, was that it was a car which only ever ran in the upper middle of it's class, and as the other models got updated and changed, the 380 was stuck in one place.....and thus got overtaken

You could basically pinpoint that to being launched late. The US Galant went on sale in '03 as an '04 model, and we had to wait until 2005 for essentially the same car. Then we also had Olivier Boulay butcher the previous model with that facelift that had the old model drag on until the 380 was ready. If they had've accepted the Galant as it was, without the major reworking they gave it as the 380 they potentially couldve gotten them to market a few critical years earlier. Maybe even on sale within earshot of the BA/VY launches.

How long do we give the other three manufacturers that are left in Australia? I'd say Holden and particularly Toyota are in the best financial position to stay. I'm worried that if the Orion Falcon doesn't sell well enough that Ford will pull up stumps before the the 2nd line to build the Focus comes on stream in 2012.

I dont know whether Mitsubishi's demise will be as damaging to the other 3 as many fear. The way its transpired, Mitsubishi's local sales have wiltered away to generally under 1000 units per month. Thats only 12K a year when Mitsubishi were originally hoping for triple that number. Most people seem to think the local components industry losing Mitsubishi contracts will be what send the other 3 away, but with Mitsubishi gone now compared to 12 months ago the numbers lost could easily be reversed by local Focus production post 2011.

[NSXType-R]

This sucks. The situation reminds me of the plants closing in Michigan for GM or Ford.

BTW, the 380 is our Galant right? It should be a decent car. Not the best one out there, but decent nonetheless.

[crisis]

I take no pleasure in saying I told you so but Mitsubishi would not even be still there to make the announcement had the State Government not pumped millions into it. Question: what do you do if you are making a front wheel drive large sized car that is not selling well? Answer. Build a new one.
It was doomed and if I had been working at Mitsubishi the time of the last scare I would have been looking hard for alternative employment. Easier said than done I know and I feel for those people who are now having to go out en masse and find new employment. Pity the unfair dismissal laws have not been eliminated yet.

And as far as being a classic I think the 380 will make a nice cheap late model second hand car in a few years. Like the Magna before it.

[-What-]

Question: what do you do if you are making a front wheel drive large sized car that is not selling well? Answer. Build a new one.

Maybe they didn't have the money to build a new one. You can't just abandon a product like you suggest.

[Blue Supra]

it wouldnt have beem so hard to though, the 380 WAS a complete re design from scratch and they went FWD... Epic fail was gauranteed.