Mitsubishi in the driver's seat

With a growth of 16 per cent in the Thai auto market for the first quarter compared with last year, customer confidence is on the rise.

In the passenger car segment the strongest growth has been recorded by Honda with a 46-per-cent growth. In the pickup segment, Mitsubishi saw the strongest growth at 21.7 per cent. The first quarter in Thailand saw 160,786 units being sold, of which 52,448 were passenger cars and the rest commercial vehicles.

"Customers are now better understanding the advantages of the Triton. The superior road holding and good looks are now well accepted. Besides, we also have the Mitsubishi mini motor show in different provinces all over Thailand which allows more people to experience our vehicles," Mitsubishi Motor Thailand executive vice president Kazuhiro Watashige said.

Mitsubishi sold a total of 8,006 units in the first quarter of this year compared with 6,715 units last year in the same period. This shows a 19.2-per-cent growth.

Taking into account only pickup sales, Mitsubishi sold 7,321 units in the first quarter as opposed to 6,016 units in the same period last year, which adds up to a growth of 21.7 per cent.

The high sales of 1-tonne pickups have elevated Mitsubishi to third place.

It has also increased its market share to 8.4 per cent for the first quarter of this year as opposed to 7.3 per cent in the same period last year.

At the Mitsubishi Motor Expo, the company invites existing customers of Mitsubishi along with their families and friends. This increases word-of-mouth advertising. Mitsubishi's Diamond insurance and warranty programme has also  attracted customers to the brand.

"The boost in sales however can be seen with every brand though. Customer confidence is returning as a new government has taken over. Previously, customers had the money but were not willing to spend it due to the unstable political situation," Watashige said.

One of the important strategies that Mitsubishi will implement this year is a certified used car programme. The programme will allow customers to exchange older Mitsubishis that meet certain criteria for newer vehicles. Other mass market brands that are already doing this are Toyota with its Toyota Sure programme and Chevrolet with its Chevy OK programme.

"We have seen from our research that 75 per cent of our customers are people who already owned a Mitsubishi. Only the remaining 25 per cent are new customers. The certified used car programme will greatly help customers who want to hand in older cars for new ones," Watashige said.

The company hopes to have 12-13 used-car dealerships nationwide and expand every year. Many of the certified used-car dealers that will join Mitsubishi's used-car programme already had used-car tents, which were previously not affiliated with Mitsubishi Thailand.

"The idea is to implement a good value chain for the customer. Our business is not just to sell cars, it is to take good care of our customers. When customers see the long-term benefit of using our vehicles, they will turn to us. Part of this is to create good resale value for the vehicles." Watashige said.

Mitsubishi, this year, is likely to launch a CNG version of the Lancer sedan. Watashige said the CNG Lancer is a result of rising customer demand for alternative fuels.

"The Thai government is currently turning to both CNG and ethanol. It is unclear which alternative fuel would be the best for the future. The network for CNG, does not seem to have expanded as much as it was expected in the past years," Watashige said.

Thailand is the first country to use both CNG and ethanol as mainstream alternative fuels. Other countries such as Brazil which have turned to alternative fuels, have chosen only the mainstream alternative.

Watashige expects the total automobile market this year to grow by 23 per cent, which would mean approximately 650,000 units. Of this, Mitsubishi hopes to sell 30,000 units, a 10-per-cent growth from last year.

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