[sidindica]

Yesterday I did get an opportunity to interact with HM-Mitsubishi officials who were on a dealer visit (don't know why), I discussed about the current state of mitsubishi models in India and what do they plan to launch in the future.

One things clear: I am still not convinced by their replies but after hours of deciding whether to post it or not, I have decided to do so.


They definitely confirmed that the much awaited lancer evo X will be launched by first quarter as a CBU, priced at approx 30 lakhs ex-showroom India.

The outlander will also undergo a facelift with a new evo-X like front end by mid 2010. No plans to launch diesel there as of now.

Montero is also planned to get an upgrade with a new 3.8 L 200 bhp CRDi motor (upgradation of existing engine from 160 odd bhp), but this will also jump the price. Expect this by third quarter of 2010.

The lancer will be phased out of Euro 4 markets, though it will be continued in other states is still unknown but still the model's days are numbered.

Now the big question: will the new lancer be launched here? The answer is YES, IN 2010 FOR SURE. But only unless HM works out the correct price positioning for it. See it with 152 bhp 2.0 L MIVEC motor.

The Cedia, meanwhile will continue as an entry level sedan (read below the NEW lancer positioning) and will continue to be in euro 4 with the existing 2.0 L engine.

But the biggest surprise: The company is seriously considering the Mitsubishi I microcar for the Indian market, powered by a 1.0 L 3 cylinder motor (which also powers the smart fortwo overseas), but only possible if the company is able to meet its price target of Rs. 3,00,000-3,50,000.

The pajero will also get an "updated engine" to meet euro 4 norms. But will it be the same motor or will it be the new one? Its still undecided.

Hope this brings some light for Mitsu fans.

Whatever I could ask and whatever replies I have got, I have written here. So please do not ask me anything else 'cause you will not find any further answers.

[Sarvodaya]

Man forget it, no use flogging a lazy horse. Mitsubishi, have been in the market for long. And yet, they have not learnt anything in the Indian Market.
They have the finest products. And yet, they are lazy to launch it. They launch products with wrong positioning / wrong pricing. A Montero with 161 BHP engine for 50 Lakhs. A generation old Pajero for 20 Lakhs. Cedia only with Petrol Engine.

Now with competition heating up in their respective segments, Mitsubishi will have a tough time.

[karthik247]

Mitsubishi?? Launching cars?? Yawn, haven't we heard a lot of that before.
They're still having a 10+ year old model for sale, in the form of the Lancer! How much more can they delay things?

[aaggoswami]

1) All say and No go till now. Its already too late to launch New lancer. Now we have Cruze that will make life miserable for new Lancer. Mitsubishi is a late mover, if it had managed to launch new lancer earlier, then atleast people would have noticed it. The competition is far ahead now.

2) If the new Lancer comes only in petrol, there are no chances of its success unless Mitsubishi manages to price it in the range of Rs. 9-10 lakh OTR. Cruze has grabbed everybody's attention so the advantage of looks are now not with New lancer. Cruze comes with a good diesel engine that obviously is more preferred by Indians. Already its clocking 2nd best sales.
New lancer needs to come out with their new 4N13 and/or 4N14 range of diesels.

I wish they come out with 4N13 ( 1.8 D 1799cc, 83mm X 83.1mm BXS, 135bhp, 280Nm ) in Rs. 10 lakh format and also come up with 4N14 ( 2.2D 2268cc, 86mm X 97.6mm BXS, 189bhp, 400Nm ) with Rs. 11.5-12 lakh in the new Lancer. This way they will be able to cover both, Cruze and Altis on lower base and Laura on the higher range.

But its all hope. Toyota itself has taken so much time to come up with a new small car, so what can we expect from Mitsubishi.

[absynthguzzler]

Originally Posted by karthik247

Mitsubishi?? Launching cars?? Yawn, haven't we heard a lot of that before.
They're still having a 10+ year old model for sale, in the form of the Lancer! How much more can they delay things?

And the icing on the cake is that the diesel variant car costs only 50k ( ex showroom) less than the best diesel car this side of 10 lacs - Verna!.

[karthik247]

They have a very good brand name, pretty decent cars and good technology. Wonder whats still stopping them?? Launching the EVO X wouldn't help them much in terms of sales. What they need to do is pull the plug on the Lancer and maybe the Cedia as well and bring in the new gen Lancer and pit it against the Civic and the lot. And even a small hatchback maybe to compete against the i20, Jazz etc.

[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by Sarvodaya

Man forget it, no use flogging a lazy horse. Mitsubishi, have been in the market for long. And yet, they have not learnt anything in the Indian Market.

+1. Its a lethargic brand!

Whats Mitsu's brand value now? Enthusiast's cars? They should bring in those MiVec's then. They want sales? bring in the diesels. And HM is really not helping their case.

[karanraheja]

There's no doubt that Mitsubishi cars are great and we already love the Lancer brand. Gimme a next gen Lancer ( read with looks of EVO X) with a petrol + diesel at 11-13 lacs range and i would buy it. Launching a small car for them would be very tough with Japanese and Koreans ruling the segment. HM surely has taught them one thing : how to keep a car in the market for over a decade

[WhiteKnight]

+1 on the +1 for karthik247 and SkyWalker.

Ideally they should do what Yamaha did in India. Going back to their strengths.

I'm still a Mitsu fanboy right from Tommi Makinen. But I've not bought a Mitsu yet, though I could have. Would I do it in future? Let's see

[Sudan_NFS]

I can give one best idea, just break the deal with HM and build your own service centers and sales.change the lazy manager and try to bring in a new young managers and a new factory of your own to build car's locally and generate volume.It's shame to Mitsubishi for begin so long in India and haven't setup a plant to build car's locally.

I remember an ACI issue that new lancer will be in India by early 2009.

if Mitsubishi is serious about our market then do this.Unless Mitsubishi is with HM they will never act fast.

[amulu10]

if they are serious enough about our market then they should launch this
Mitsubishi Colt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
its in the jazz/i20/punto category ,pricing around 6-7 lakhs with a diesel will do wonders and the new lancer with diesel+ petrol asap!

[KSM-Vtec]

well that should be a good buy, but what about the service support for mitsu?i wish they work on that as well

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Now the big question: will the new lancer be launched here? The answer is YES, IN 2010 FOR SURE. But only unless HM works out the correct price positioning for it. See it with 152 bhp 2.0 L MIVEC motor.

So does that mean they will sort out the price positioning surely in 2010? Or is it like, if they cannot do so, the launch could get pushed to 2011?

I know you said you had no further inputs. Just trying to understand how you perceived that statement from the officials.

[Nikhilb2008]

They should just ditch HM and come in on their own.

Mitsu is the worst company in India when it comes to taking note of customer's feedback and acting on it. I say this only because of their total lack of interest in launching new cars. The Cedia is a great car, but they detuned it for India for mileage reasons. Now, if someone is looking for a fuel efficient car, would he even think of the Cedia? The Cedia is bought mainly by enthusiasts.

Mr. Iyer, if you are reading this, please please for heaven's sake do something and bring in the 2.0l Mivec in the new Lancer without detuning it. And launch it QUICK! By the time HM launches the 10th gen Lancer, the rest of the world would have got the 11th gen Lancer and we'll start cribbing all over again.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by sidindica

The pajero will also get an "updated engine" to meet euro 4 norms. But will it be the same motor or will it be the new one? Its still undecided.

Hope this brings some light for Mitsu fans.

Whatever I could ask and whatever replies I have got, I have written here. So please do not ask me anything else 'cause you will not find any further answers.

Big YAAAWWN. These guys should dump HM first thing and break out on their own. They really need to study the competition and see that most of their competition is selling current global models rather than over-priced models that have been discontinued years back in global markets.

Not sure what they can do with the Pajero 2.8 engine as they don't currently have an in-house diesel that they can use. They may have to source a diesel from a vendor other manufacturer. Secondly I doubt they can modify an older IDI engine to meet Euro 4/5 standards.

With 200+ bhp engine the Montero may end up being closer to 60 lakhs on the road and that is moving it into Range Rover territory.

To me the lethargic engine, clown paint and price are the biggest drawbacks of an otherwise great vehicle.