The CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Australia Restricted (MMAL), Shaun Westcott, has stepped down from the position after 5 years within the prime job.
In accordance with The Australian, Mr Westcott resigned from his place because the Japanese auto model’s native chief final week, however the firm has to date chosen to not announce the transfer.
“MMAL can affirm that Shaun Westcott has made the choice to resign as CEO,” a spokesperson for the corporate confirmed to CarExpert right now following enquiries.
“We thank him for his contribution and affect throughout his time with MMAL and need him all the very best together with his future endeavours.”
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Mr Westcott arrived in Australia from South Africa in 2017, with an extended historical past of senior firm appointments – starting with Coca-Cola within the mid-Nineties.
A yr after becoming a member of Mitsubishi in 2019, Mr Westcott was promoted to chairman and CEO – although he stepped down from his place as chairman in March 2024.
In 2019, Mitsubishi was Australia’s fourth best-selling model – with 83,250 automobiles offered – nonetheless, rising competitors from Chinese language automakers has seen the corporate drop to seventh place on the charts, as of final month.
Mitsubishi ended 2024 in fifth place, recording 75,000 gross sales – a 17.5 per cent improve on the earlier yr.
This yr, gross sales have dropped not solely as a result of powerful competitors, but in addition as a result of Mitsubishi was pressured to finish imports of the favored ASX, Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport SUVs as they didn’t meet a brand new Australian Design Rule (ADR) regarding autonomous emergency braking methods.
Whereas the corporate secured inventory of those automobiles previous to the ADR’s graduation date of March 1, 2025, gross sales for the model are however down by 15.6 per cent in comparison with January-August of final yr.
Throughout his time on the firm, Mr Westcott oversaw the continued transition in direction of SUVs and industrial automobiles – together with the short-lived return of the Mitsubishi Categorical van.
In 2022, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries – the foyer group representing many of the main automobile producers in Australia – appointed Mr Westcott as Deputy Chairman.
“From a Mitsubishi perspective, we’ve got been promoting automobiles in Australia for 45 years, and we intend to be right here for the foreseeable future, and past,” Mr Westcott informed CarExpert in Could 2025.
“You possibly can’t purchase historical past like that, or the affinity with the Australian market that it creates.”
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