At the press event for the new generation 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander, Uttam Bose, MD of HMFCL India, talked about Mitsubishi’s interest in the mini SUV segment. Stating they have no plans to initiate a launch before 2020, Mr. Bose said they are looking into the mini SUV segment by introducing products like the Xpander and the Eclipse. The Managing Director also stated that the company shall offer only SUVs in the Indian market. They earlier did offer sedans like the Lancer, Cedia and a sporty sedan the Evo which did not do too well in the market.
The new SUV could come in with localisation in order to keep the price low. Even though it may be compact in size but we predict Mitsubishi would go all out on off Road capabilities and the Indian spec Xpander or Eclipse will come with state of the art 4 wheel drive system.
Also Read: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV India Launch Likely To Happen On August 20
Mr. Bose also stated the reason for the delay in the launch of products for the Indian market. He stated the main obstacle leading to the delay of the launch of the Outlander were the new norms and safety tests introduced in the Indian market. Mr. Bose added that earlier Indian norms did not require crash test but now they have made a crash test of a new vehicle a compulsion. Delegates at the press event also claimed to have a target of 250 to 300 units a year. They also plan to expand their total dealership numbers from 38 to 45 by the end of this year.