COVID-19 Update: Mitsubishi Announces Mass-Redesigns for 2021

By Desiree Homer

This Year May Be the Best Time to Incorporate Changes

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced recently that it plans to revisit the vehicle lineup and deliver new generations in 2021. It’s a promising hope to those franchise dealers hungry for re-engineering efforts and fresh products. This commitment to invest in revisions to a family of model vehicles demonstrates a savvy business approach to timing. How can dealers take a page from this playbook and implement new things at the dealership level? Dealers may have opportunities to use the rest of this year to implement long wanted changes, launch new ideas, or explore previously intended innovations.

Mitsubishi Is Committing to Next-Gen Designs

Mitsubishi Motors Co. announced it would be honoring its promise to develop updated products and revive the aging lineup of models. The Outlander, a midsize crossover, will be revealing a new generation for 2021. Three other vehicles in the Mitsubishi family are getting redesigns or will be re-engineered, as well. The timeline outlined by company officials has consumers expecting model revisions by the end of the second quarter next year. This mass product initiative is great news for U.S.-based retailers of the brand. This year’s sales may not be overly impressive or salvageable. And Mitsubishi is using this time to surge ahead with significant changes and come out strong next year.

Fixing Potholes When People Aren’t Driving

There’s something to be said about timing. For example, when a majority of the nation was quarantined at home, there were local municipalities and road crews who used the time wisely. With fewer drivers on the road, it presented an opportune time to make serious headway on road repairs, maintenance, and projects. In the same vein, dealers may consider using these last few months of the year as the perfect time to make those major changes they’ve already had on the wish list. Maybe you’ve been waiting to incorporate a new CRM because it would cause downtime to implement. It could be that you had plans earlier in the year to resurface your dealership lot, but wanted to wait for the ideal time to not disrupt shoppers. Operations already have been upended, so revamping internal software, repaving the lot, or remodeling the storefront isn’t going to feel like much of an upset to business right now.

The Time to Make Changes Is Now

Much like road crews using the shelter-in-place orders as a perfect time to fix potholes and finish road construction, now may also be the ideal time for other things. Joey Yates, the Senior Director of Operations for Dealertrack, along with Tab Edmundson, the Vice President of Client Solutions for IAA Total Loss Solutions, sit down with Dave and Andy to talk about saving time, energy, and effort right now. Tune into this episode of the Dealer News Today podcast to hear the discussion. If your big changes to digital channels or other aspects of your business are still in the works, now may be the perfect time to move forward. Like Mitsubishi, you can then be positioned at your best for the strongest rebound in 2021.