Mitsubishi to set up Ralliart outlets

Ralliart, Mitsubishi Motor Corporation’s (MMC) flagship motor sports and merchandise outfit will soon make its way to Indian malls.

Vice President and Business Head, Chennai Car Plant, Hindustan Motors, YVS Vijay Kumar said, while talking to Auto Monitor exclusively at the inauguration of the first Autodrome, a 100 percent Hindustan Motors (HM) initiative to sell red-tier Mitsubishi products. However, its still not clear whether Ralliart will be a standalone MMC initiative or with some help from their Indian tech-partner.

Retail overdrive

Both, the Autodrome and Ralliart as strategic initiatives indicate a secondary attempt at imminent diversification into retail and promotional verticals for HM and MMC. Earlier, HM tried to revive its presence by consolidating its auto components and ancillary business under Avtec, which now supplies engines and powertrains to OEMs. The move was touted by analysts as inevitable yet wise and has been a documented success, especially with Avtec supplying to Ford and other prominent OEMs.

Ralliart is a 100 percent subsidiary of Mitsubishi Motors and has established itself as a unique motor sports agency diversifying into FIA rally team back ups, management and planning of racing events and driver safety schools, developments of performance parts for Lancer Evo series of thoroughbreds and marketing of rally paraphernalia for MMC.

‘The sub-continent is opening up to the big business of motor sports and auto-merchandise sector looks all set to grow exponentially over the next few years. We want to enhance our brand equity by emphasising MMC’s long-standing association with the Dakar and WRC. We may look at Ralliart outlets in premium malls in metros where the target audience can be reached with appropriate visibility,’ informed Brand Manager – Communications, HM, Mir Hyder.

Autodrome on the other hand marks a significant shift in retailing for the MMC-HM alliance. ‘MMC’s retailing strategy is elaborate and extremely detailed. Dealers are divided into three tiers – red, blue, and green depending on their location and performance records. While the red-tier cater to the metros for selling and servicing exclusively, the MMC products, the blue-tier cater to the semi-urban areas for Ambassadors and the green-tier cater to the rural markets for Trekkers, RTVs etc,’ said COO, Metro Motors, Gordon Maelzer.

Earlier in the day, Kumar along with Maelzer innaugrated another Metro Motors dealer in Sanpada, Navi Mumbai. On the service point front, Kumar claimed, ‘We (MMC-HM) are focussing aggressively on Maharashtra with two more dealers to go live, one each in Pune and Nashik within the next couple of weeks.’

Dispels plans for small car 

Kumar said that the current market potential for small cars is excellent but MMC-HM is banking on a round of value addition and the rise of an environmentally conscious consumer base. He immediately dispelled rumoured plans of launching a small car in the immediate future. However, he candidly confessed that the i is strikingly compatible in all its forms to ply on India roads with a dedicated consumer base already.

‘It will be here. But we will have to wait for at least two more years. The electric i-MiEV version will be expensive, making it a premium product,’ he added.

Outlander to undercut the C-RV

It is now certain that MMC’s Outlander will be assembled at the Chennai car plant of HM and will be retailed at a sub-Rs 20-lakh price tag pitted competently against the Honda’s mommy wagon, the CR-V. There is more to the Outlander than just the August launch that the SUV buffs are eagerly awaiting. While it’s a true-blue ladder on frame SUV against Honda’s monocoque CR-V, it also has a refined 2.4 litre power plant, which is in cubic capacity,