For years and years Mitsubishi has been in India with brilliant products but dismal sales. The Lancer and the Pajero has sold well when they were launched but sales just kept plummeting over time. The Lancer’s international replacement, Cedia never really caught the Indian market’s fancy. Despite being an extremely well balanced, sporty and fun to drive car, it never could match the sales of the Lancer, let alone its competition like the Hondad Civic or the Toyota Corolla. Currently it is one of the lowest selling cars in India. So Mitsubishi have finally decided to phase out the Cedia.
Mitsubishi will focus on SUV’s hereafter, a segment which gave them quite a reputation with the Pajero being their most sought after vehicle in the last decade. They replaced the old outdated Pajero with the Pajero Sport which slowly but steadily is gathering sales. The international replacement for the old Pajero, called Montero in India, never caught on as it was priced too high being a CBU import. The Outlander created quite a buzz initially, being one of the most refined, capable and value for money SUV, but as it was launched exclusively with a petrol engine, so currently is not selling at all.
But having learnt a lesson, Mitsubishi will focus on making a mark again with help of the SUV segment. They have planned many new launches for India in the various SUV categories, though exact products are not declared. Internationally the recently refreshed Outlander has got a brilliant diesel engine which they might bring to India. So with a new diesel engine they can resurrect the Outlander which is sure to get better sales.
Along with new and refreshed products, they also have their work cut out in the sales and service department. Currently they have limited number of showrooms and an average service network. Improvements on these fronts along with a good marketing strategy will definitely boost sales of this acclaimed Japanese car manufacturer.
