Mitsubishi Motors Chairman Osamu Masuko is leaving his post due to health reasons, just as the Japanese automaker’s alliance with Nissan Motor and Renault is being shaken by declining profits.
Chief Executive Officer Takao Kato will temporarily assume the role of chairman from Friday, Mitsubishi said in a statement. Masuko will continue to be a special adviser to the company, which didn’t describe his condition.
Masuko was the last top-level leader working in the company from when Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of the three automakers in the alliance, was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on charges of underreporting income. Masuko had negotiated with Ghosn to sell a third of the company following declination of its stock after a car-inspection scandal. Although the alliance revealed a new plan in May, all three automakers are continuously losing billions this year as they continue to have a hard time because of coronavirus crisis. That has raised issues over the viability of their partnership.
“Under new management, it’ll become clearer that Mitsubishi will prioritize its own revival,” said Seiji Sugiura, a senior analyst at Tokyo Tokai Research.
The global auto alliance, which was formed to compete against other auto giants, is under increasing pressure since Ghosn’s arrest. Apart from Ghosn, former Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa and former Renault CEO Thierry Bollore left their positions in 2019. Last week, Mitsubishi Motors forecast an operating loss of ¥140 billion ($1.3 billion) for the fiscal year through March and said it would shut down a plant in Japan assembling Pajero SUVs in a bid to cut expenses.
Masuko negotiated with Ghosn when Mitsubishi Motors was entangled in a car-inspection scandal in 2016 for misleading about the fuel-economy data. Nissan purchased a third of Mitsubishi. Masuko stepped down as CEO in June 2019, and Kato took the position.
