MITSUBISHI DELAYS CANADIAN ENTRY
By Adnews Staff
California-based Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc. has put its entry into the Canadian market on hold indefinitely, leaving the fate of its ad account up in the air. The car maker decided to delay its Canadian launch because it "suffered substantial operating losses worldwide in 1997," Mitsubishi U.S. executive vice-president and chief operating officer Pierre Gagnon says in a release. "We've, therefore, made the decision to put our entry into the Canadian market on hold so that we can focus in the immediate future on restoring the profitability of Mitsubishi's U.S. operations." "I believe that Mitsubishi Motors must one day enter that market. But now is not the time for us to try to tackle such an important business objective when we need to Marshall all of our resources as efficiently as possible on behalf of our current operations worldwide," he added. In Canada, Mitsubishi was in the middle of an agency review for its account and was expected to announce a decision by mid-April. About 12 agencies were short listed for the business. Mitsubishi Canadian officials were unavailable to comment on the move or the agency review. The Canadian subsidiary will continue to operate, providing parts for the vehicles it services in Canada that were built by Mitsubishi, but sold under Chrysler Corp. nameplates. Mitsubishi markets a line of vehicles including coupes, convertibles, sedans and sport utility vehicles.