Mitsubishi Motors had a great Q1 2021, mostly thanks to the Xpander.
When it comes to Japanese auto marques in Malaysia, Mitsubishi Motors has sort of fallen by the wayside. None of their passenger cars have received any major updates in years… well, until the XPANDER came along last year.
Its introduction into the Malaysian market woke up a whole bunch of Mitsubishi fans. Those who would have otherwise spent money on a Honda BR-V or Toyota Avanza started to pay attention to Mitsubishi instead. As a result, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia posted a record high of 4,156 vehicles sold from January 2021 and March 2021. This also had the effect of pushing Mitsubishi up beyond Nissan in terms of sales for these three months, putting them in the top three non-national marques in terms of sales.
Over 9300 bookings for the Mitsubishi XPANDER have been placed since its introduction in November 2020.
Here’s the press release with more.
PRESS RELEASE
MITSUBISHI MOTORS MALAYSIA (MMM), the official distributor of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles in Malaysia, recorded historical high sales performance of 4,156 vehicles sold for Financial Year 2020 Q4 (January – March 2021), which is a 135% increase in sales as compared to Financial Year 2019 Q4 (January- March 2020). During the same period, Mitsubishi
Motors is also the top three non-national brand for three consecutive months.
The company also announced 51% increase in sales with 11,554 vehicles sold for Financial Year 2020 (April 2020 – March 2021), as compared to the same period in Financial Year 2019 (April 2019-March 2020). MMM’s Financial Year 2020 ended on 31 March 2021.
The sales achievement is attributed by the strong reception of the new Mitsubishi XPANDER, which have received more than 9,300 bookings since its launch in November 2020. The company have since delivered 2,742 units to new owners.
“Due to the overwhelming positive response for the new XPANDER, we are progressing to increase our production volume to cater for higher production capacity to fulfil all booking demands,” said Tomoyuki Shinnishi, Chief Executive Officer of MMM.
The company’s volume seller Mitsubishi Triton, was also exceptionally well received by Malaysians and recorded an incremental sales performance of 32% with 7,568 units sold in FY20 as compared to FY19.
“Despite the challenging market situation, MMM closed FY20 on a high with the main drivers for volume growth- the Triton pick-up truck and the new XPANDER seven-seater crossover. Back by our committed dealers, we have expanded our sales outlets to Temerloh, Kuala Selangor and Petaling Jaya last financial year, and more than 60% of our dealers have upgraded their outlets for a better customer experience. This FY21, we will continue to expand our dealer network in order to serve our customers better in terms of sales and after sales,” said Shinnishi.
He added, “We thank our customers who have supported the Mitsubishi brand and the good sales only reveal brand and customer’s loyalty. In return for this strong support, we prioritize all our customers’ needs by introducing a seamless digitalization sale and after sales experience with the introduction of Test Drive 2U, MITSUBISHI CONNECT mobile application as well as the newly launched Mitsubishi Online Showroom. With this, we persevere to push forward and to remain optimistic in our new financial year, in terms of growing our sales while maintaining a dedicated after
sales service.”
