HM to roll out 2.8-litre Pajero variant soon

Chennai: As part of its strategy to expand its utility vehicle portfolio, Hindustan Motors (HM) will soon launch a 2.8-litre inter-cooled turbo diesel engine Pajero (www.pajeroindia.com).

The company will assemble the completely knocked down kits imported from Mitshubishi Motors at its Chennai car plant. To be priced around Rs 25 lakh, HM expects the vehicle to notch up an annual volume of 600 units.

 HM launched the Rs 34.9-lakh, 3.2-litre direct-injection diesel Pajero a couple of months ago. Imported as completely-built units, the model is gathering encouraging market response with 20 vehicles already on the Indian roads.
 
Nicknamed The Mountain Cat, the 4x4WD Pajero is the most popular vehicle from the Mitshubishi Motors stable and there are around 2 million units on the road all over the world. As a matter of fact the five-door vehicle has become a generic brand for the utility vehicle segment.

Says HM general manager (sales and service) S Vasudevan: "Pajero is not a volume-based vehicle, and we hope to sell around 25 vehicles every month. We already have bookings for 30 units."

Adds HM managing director A Sankara Narayanan: "The emerging trend in the utility vehicle segment is that those automobiles that offer lots of comforts and power will get a greater customer response. Though there are utility vehicles ranging between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 35 lakh, a Pajero-owner makes a loud statement about his exquisite taste and prestige."

"We have the data bank of Lancer-owners (27,000), who are potential Pajero-owners. In addition, we have hired an agency to survey and collect a data bank of luxury car-owners in India," says HM vice-president G Shyam Sundar. The company, in all probability, will be targeting owners of the Sonata, Mercedes and numerous other imported cars.

As in the case of the Lancer, HM is placing faith in personalised selling rather than resorting to mass-media advertising or celebrity endorsement for its new offerings. "A Pajero-owner is a celebrity," says Sundar.

As per plans, the company's and dealers' marketing executives, armed with a laptop and CD containing Pajero features, will contact high net-worth individuals and make a colourful presentation. "This strategy is highly effective for our Lancer models," says Vasudevan.

Similarly, it is only the Red Line dealers — dealers who sell only Lancers — who will sell Pajeros. The other two dealer categories — Blue Line (Ambassador, Trekker, Contessa) and Green Line (RTV) — will have to stick to their allotted models. "Even if Blue and Green Line dealers generate sales enquiries to earn commissions, the Pajero sales will depend on the servicing capability in that region," adds Vasudevan.

The launch of the new litre-variant will utilise the large free capacity of HM's Chennai plant set up to roll out 24,000 Lancers. The company now produces around 7,000 Lancers. About the stagnating sales, Narayanan says: "All over the world, it is the mid-sized segment that logs growth. But in India, for this segment the market is just limited. The Lancer, however, is the most popular car in the mid-size category."

While the launch of the Sonata by Hyundai Motor India has slowed down (or eaten into) the Lancer market, Sundar is optimistic that the Lancer is maintaining its market share in its segment.