Hindustan Motors – Mitsubishi, a joint venture between these two car makers, will lance a number of new cars and variants in the Indian auto market next year. The new launches from the company will also include a new version of its popular sports utility vehicle Pajero. Earlier, the company was expected to showcase a number of future products in the Indian market at the upcoming Delhi International Auto Expo, but the recent massive floods in Thailand forced the company to postpone their plans.
Speaking on the matter, Hindustan Motors Ltd Managing Director, Mr. Manoj Jha, said, "We had decided to launch Pajero as well as new variants from the HM stable at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi. However, some dislocation of operations at Mitsubishi Motors' Thailand facility due to natural calamity and unexpected events compelled us to alter our plans for participation in the auto show."
The Japanese auto maker Mitsubishi had entered in the Indian market in partnership with country’s oldest car maker Hindustan Motors, in year 1998. The current portfolio of HM Mitsubishis includes Lancer, Lancer Evo X, Pajero, Cedia, Outlander and Montero.
While further elaborating the company’s future plans for the Indian market, Mr. Jha said that one of firm’s passenger carrier variants is expected to get approval from Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) soon. He added that other commercial variants built on the Ambassador platform are also in the pipeline. Market research is being conducted across different states to elicit customer feedback on the new products. The rescheduled launch of Pajero and HM stable vehicles will start from the first quarter of the coming year (2012) with appropriate publicity.
