Adding value and slipping in more cost sensitive models is a 2010 Christmas present that is destined to become a way of the future for Mitsubishi. It is expected to do very nicely for the car company that everyone gave up for dead after it pulled the pin on Australian manufacturing a few years ago.
Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd (MMAL) president and CEO Masahiko Takahashi today launched five price-trimmed selections in time for Christmas lunch ...
1) a Triton Club Cab that is a two door ute or cab-chassis with short-stay seating for an extra two bodies in the back;
2) an RX Pajero that is basically a GLX with a few extra trimmings;
3) a base model Challenger for fleet buyers (and even rugged privateers) without the "flashy" stuffing;
4) a two-wheel drive Outlander that is expected to take 50 per cent of the all-wheel drive model's sales; and
5) an SX Lancer which is a gift-wrapped edition sitting above the $21,490 ES model and below the $25,890 VR version.
Mr Takahashi says the new models are part of an overall plan for sustainable growth.
"We're pretty happy with ourselves," he says.
"We have 57,451 sales to date this year. For the the total year 2009 we had 50,168. So we expect a very strong year and we see total Australian vehicle sales at one million for 2010."
TRITON
New for the 2011 model year is the two-door Triton Club Cab. Mitsubishi had Club Cabs up to 2006 when the model was dropped on dwindling sales. Unexpectedly, sales of such models - sometimes called space cabs, super cabs or extended cabs - started to strengthen in late 2006 and now are a 10,000 unit per year segment of the commercial vehicle sales.
Mitsubishi sees the 2WD version - which carries over the Triton dual-cab's 131kW/400Nm 2.5-litre turbo-diesel and five-speed manual transmission - as appealing predominantly to workhorse tasks.
The ute gets flip-up occasional rear seating for two with lap-sash seatbelts, two airbags, iPod/USB connectivity and a four-star crash rating. ESC and traction control are an $800 option.
PAJERO
Ahead of a major makeover next year - and before the entire 4WD gets replaced in late 2012 - this wagon gets a new model called the RX. Based on the GLX, it adds 18-inch alloy wheels, up-specced dashboard, privacy glass, fog lights, side steps, reverse park sensors, rear airconditioning, a six-disc CD player and Bluetooth. It costs from $55,190 as a diesel manual with options including a V6 petrol and a diesel auto.
Mitsubishi says there's $5000 worth of extra value in the RX and the appealing price "will keep the sales ,momentum rolling''.
CHALLENGER
There's a new model that sits under the current entry-level LS which takes away some of the gloss of the LS but offers value for fleet buyers and some people who like an austere sort of life. It retains the 131kW 2.5-litre turbo-diesel and offers the choice of five-speed manual or five-speed automatic with two-speed transfer case.
But it plain-wraps the 4WD wagon by removing some airbags (it now has two), fitting 16-inch alloys and removing some baubles such as the chrome trim to body parts including the mirror housings. It costs $41,490 compared with the $44,990 price of the LS.
Mitsubishi says the removal of the side and curtain airbags would allow it to more easily adapt to the ROPS (roll-over protection standards) requirements of mining companies and other users who need to modify the roof.
The price and specs mean the Challenger now rivals the Nissan Pathfinder "but we'd sell one and a half times as many'' of ours, says MMAL's SUV and LCV product manager, James Tol.
OUTLANDER
"This is the way the market is moving," says MMAL product manager for Pajero and Compact SUV, Chris Maxted. "Customers expectations are changing." The two-wheel drive Outlander reflects the market trend to all-wheel drive wagons without the mechanical requirements to go off the bitumen.
Maxted says 20 per cent of the current Compact SUV market is now 2WD. That may be minor but 18 months ago the share was only 10 per cent.
Toyota sells 50:50 RAV 4WD:2WD; Nissan Dualis sells 80 per cent of its model as a 2WD; the Mitsubishi ASX is a 50:50 split and the just finished one month-old sales of the Outlander 2WD, it took 30 per cent of the total Outlander sales.
Mitsubishi expects the new Outlander, which is only sold as a base model, will claim 50 per cent of the total model's market in a short time.
It sells for $28,990 compared to its next model, the all-wheel drive LS, at $33,240.
The 2WD gets a full-size spare wheel (in fact, this has been added to all Outlanders except the seven-seat versions) and a bigger 63 litre fuel tank (compared with 60 litres) because there was more room under the chassis as the rear drive components were ditched.
LANCER
The small car market in Australia sells about 200,000 units a year and the Lancer has 10 per cent. But the company wants more. It today launched the SX version that is based on the ES and designed for the private buyer who wants a bit more for a bit less.
"People are looking for value in a car," says MMAL's Paul Unerkov. "So we have n enhanced ES with alloy wheels, rear spoiler, Bluetooth, leather steering wheel cover, and so on."
Mitsubishi has also listened to criticism and reduced the noise level within the car, The Lancer range gets extra underfloor and wheel arch sound deadening, bigger weatherstrips on the windows and a baffle cover over the engine's exhaust manifold.
The SX bridges the $4400 price gap - seen as being excessive - between the $21,490 ES and $25,890 VR with its $22,790 tag.
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