Industry Report Part 2: Mitsubishi Faces Unprecedented Challenges in Canadian Market

Reports of the European/Asian market Colt are saying it was not engineered with North American regulatory standards in mind, and therefore cannot be imported. Whether this is true, or more of the daily automotive fodder that spreads through internet chat rooms before somehow comes out on the other side as gospel, is hard to say for sure. The fact

Without a subcompact, like something similar to Toyota's Echo hatchback shown here, Mitsubishi will have trouble pulling in entry-level customers. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

remains though, that Mitsubishi will be one of the only players in the Canadian market with no subcompact entry model in its roster. Hyundai has its Accent, Kia its Rio, and more recently Chevrolet and Suzuki have entered the market with their Aveo and Sprint+ respectively, while Toyota has just recently added the Hatchback to its two model subcompact assault. Each of these cars is priced thousands less than its brand's respective compact model, all of which are designed to compete with Mitsubishi's Lancer. Without a subcompact, Mitsubishi will have trouble pulling in entry customers, especially important for selling up into more expensive and resultantly more profitable models as the years continue. No matter how they do it, Mitsubishi needs a subcompact in Canada.

The Canadian market has a total of 9 cars that aren't offered in USA, a sign that the Canadian market is quite a bit different than that in the U.S. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press)

It comes as no surprise, however, that the U.S. brass behind the Japanese company didn't have a strong understanding of the Canadian market. Some Mitsubishi executives were surprised to hear that altogether Canada sells (or will soon be selling) 9 models that are not available in America, including the aforementioned Toyota Echo hatch and Suzuki Swift+, as well as the Acura 1.7 EL (basically a Honda Civic with an exclusive front and rear fascia), Chevrolet Optra (Suzuki Forenza) and Epica (Verona), plus the Pontiac Wave (Aveo/Swift) and Pursuit (Chevy Cobalt), micro-sized smart fortwo, and Nissan X-Trail. Most believe Nissan will also enter the fray with its Micra/March, while BMW Canada is still considering bringing the 1-Series into the Canadian market despite a recent announcement that it most likely won't make it to the U.S.