Saturday, 4 October 2008

Hindustan Motors to launch new commercial vehicle

 To revive declining sales Hindustan Motors is planning to launch new variants of its sedan in the coming months, even as it unveiled Mitsubishi Corporation’s sports utility vehicle Outlander here.

The company will also launch a new commercial vehicle on a similar platform to its current RTV model, a top company official said.

“We plan to launch Cedia and Lancer with new features and that will boost sales,” said C.K. Birla, Chairman, Hindustan Motors, at the launch of the new vehicle. He, however, declined to give a timeframe by when it would introduce the new models.

HM suspends production due to raw materials shortage

“In case of the new commercial vehicle based on the RTV platform, the launch would be in the next six-eight weeks,” said R. Santhanam, Managing Director of the company.

Hindustan Motors, which produces and markets Mitsubishi range of models, currently sells sports utility vehicle like Montero, Pajero and sedans including Cedia and Lancer.

Sales under pressure

Birla said that last month sales were under pressure but from January onwards outlook should look better.

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While the company’s sales in the sedan segment during April-August fell 23 per cent to 3,637 units, sales of Pajero rose 46 per cent to 1,022 units.

Priced at Rs 20.2 lakh, Hindustan Motors expects to sell 100 units monthly. The company’s current capacity stands at 12,000 units in Chennai and 24,000 units at Uttharpara in West Bengal.

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