Hindustan Motors Limited, the country's one of the oldest auto makers, is planning to launch the renowned utility vehicle of Mitsubishi, Outlander with a diesel engine. Sources close to the development process stated that the model will be unveiled somewhere in the first half of 2014. It must be noted that Hindustan Motors discontinued the sales of petrol variant of Outlander in 2012 because of rising cost. On the new launch, the Chief Operating Officer of Hindustan Motors, P Vijayan said that the new diesel Outlander will be packed with a number of additional features, which will surely entice the Indian buyers.
He was further quoted as saying, “The company is working on the new model of the diesel version and will launch it in early 2014. It will be a more rejuvenated model and will be placed in the UV 4 segment (premium). As Mitsubishi's partner in India, we want to focus only on the utility vehicle segment and one can see more variants/models of Mitsubishi Pajero and Outlander going forward in India. We will target corporate honchos, celebrities and software professionals.”
Industry experts are of a view that the Mitsubishi Pajero will be considered best for off-road driving customers, whereas the Outlander will offer superior on-road driving comfort. Reportedly, Mitsubishi recently discontinued all of its sedans in the Indian auto market owing to poor sales and is now looking to cash in on the Sports utility Vehicle (SUV) segment. The current SUV line-up of Mitsubishi India consists Pajero Sport and Montero, which will soon be joined by the diesel variant of Outlander. The major reason behind the discontinuation of Outlander was the absence of a diesel engine, as most of its direct competitors feature an oil burner. It is believed that with the introduction of Mitsubishi Outlander, the auto maker is planning to target the corporate professionals and urban professionals.
