M Car Trading, the representative of Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi for the domestic market, estimates sales of 1,200 units for this year, up 60% on last year''s sales of 750 units.
Turnover is expected to grow at a more modest pace because the Mitsubishi company, which posted a 19.5 million-euro turnover last year, plans to focus mainly on lower-cost models this year that generate larger sales volumes, such as the Mitsubishi Colt.
"This year''s growth will rely on four factors: the growth of the automotive market, the entry of the high volume model (Colt) into our product range, the emergence of new dealers across the country and the maturity of the current retail chain," explained Mihai Ivanescu, general manager of M Car Trading.
He says the announced sales target could be exceeded by the end of the year.
"The final result will probably be higher than this, considering the seasonal nature of Mitsubishi sales, with the last quarter accounting for 35% of the total, and the fact that we are set to conclude the first five months with around 450 units delivered to customers."
Besides the Colt model, which should see sales of 400 units, the importer for the Japanese carmaker has high hopes for other models, like the Lancer (100 units) and SUVs like the Outlander (150 units, up from 94 last year) and the Pajero Sport (250 units, up from 189 last year).
"Mitsubishi is in an important position on the SUV market, not because it doesn''t have other products, but because the brand is still suffering from the lack of image of the entire range of models, which was evident until the general dealer for Romania, M Car Trading, came along," he added. ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
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