Mitsubishi eyes cars from Taiwan

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines is contemplating importing cars from Taiwan in order to meet the demand for smaller, more fuel efficient cars.

In an interview, Mitsubishi assistant vice president for marketing services Froilan G. Dytianquin said the Filipino consumer is now switching to smaller cars like the Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris and Suzuki Swift.

Dytianquin attributed this to the volatile gas prices. Over the weekend, oil companies increased the price of gasoline by P0.50 per liter.

"The Lancer sales are being affected by smaller cars," he explained. Because of this, he said, Mitsubishi is thinking of importing Colt from Taiwan. Although Dytianquin still do not know how much the Colt would retail for, he said the average price of Jazz, Yaris and Swift is P750,000.

Dytianquin, likewise, said Mitsubishi will be introducing a 2007 Gallant next month. He, however, refused to give details.

Early this week, Mitsubishi launched three new models of sports utility vehicles (SUVs), the all-new Mitsubishi Outlander, Mitsubishi Endeavor and Mitsubishi Pajero.

For the Outlander, Dytianquin said they expect to sell 100 units per month. The target for Pajero is half that at 50 units a month. Meanwhile, Dytianquin said they will likely sell only 200 units of Endeavor this year given that the SUV can be availed at a per order basis only.

The Endeavor he said, is an SUV with a passenger car like ride. It retails for P2.15 million.

It has a 3.8 liter V6 with 24-valves and the front wheels are driven by a 4-speed INVECS-II automatic with Sportronic shifter and is aided by an electronic active skid and traction control system to prevent excessive wheelspin, understeer, or oversteer.

Meanwhile, the fourth generation Pajero costs between P2.5 million to P2.6 million. The seats are large and wide to easily accommodate seven adults but can also be configured in a number of ways to fit extremely large and long cargo.

The new Pajero is much safer than its predecessor and its competitors with the addition of side and curtain airbags. Also the Pajero has an electro chromic rear view mirror that automatically dims the mirror to prevent glare from the headlamps of ensuing vehicles.

The new Pajero comes in two more powerful engine options namely the 3.8 liter 6G75 V6 24-valve MIVEC gasoline engine and the Turbocharged and Intercooled 3.2 liter 4M41 16-valve direct injection diesel common rail engine. The new Pajero is completely imported from Japan.

The second generation Mitsubishi Outlander costs between P1.48 million to P1.68 million. The engine has 24-valves. For safety, the body frame has been developed using the Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution technology to reassure collision safety. Brakes are all discs and are equipped with electronic brakeforce distribution.