The Return Of The Colt - Mitsubishi Hope

TOKYO, Nov 8, 2002 Chang-Ran Kim writing for Reuters reports that if there was ever a car that could make or break an automaker, the new Colt would be it for Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Two years after tarnishing its brand with the industry's biggest cover-up scandal to date, Japan's fourth-largest automaker badly needs a make-over to win back drivers and reverse the two-year run of falling domestic sales.

And with its successful truck arm soon to be split off, the fully remodelled subcompact could also prove a test of whether Mitsubishi Motors will be able to keep up in the increasingly competitive race in its mainstay passenger car segment.

No one knows that better than Mitsubishi, and the 32-year-old carmaker is revving up full throttle for a comeback.

In a buildup fitting to its importance, Mitsubishi has been marketing the Colt in teaser campaigns at cafes and playgrounds for weeks before its November 11 launch. The mantra-like slogan, "Majime, Majime, Majime, Colt", repeating the Japanese word for serious and earnest: the company's attempt to exorcise the ghosts of scandals past.

Gimmicks aside, the Colt, Mitsubishi's first full-sized car in 1-½ years, could be a winner.

In a first for a car of this class, drivers will be able to craft their own Colt choosing features in 33 categories, which not only include typical accessories such as an extra cup-holder, but also engine size, wheel type and seat shape.

The system will allow for hundreds of millions of different combinations in a built-to-order style without extra cost or time lag, Mitsubishi said. The automaker plans to adopt the method for all future models apart from 660cc minivehicles.

The Colt will carry a price tag of around 1.1 to 1.4 million yen ($9,080-$11,550), Mitsubishi said.

NEW-FOUND PRIDE

The Colt will also mark a rebirth design-wise.

In what Mitsubishi's design team says is a declaration of confidence and new-found pride, the Colt will revive the triangular shape in the hood meant to accentuate the Mitsubishi group's three-diamond trademark on the nose.

The 120-year-old logo, arguably the most recognisable in Japan, will also be placed prominently on the steering wheel at twice the size used in existing models, and in metal instead of the cheaper imprints.

"Until now, we have been shy with our logo. If you give it a certain size, it shows we believe in ourselves," Olivier Boulay, Mitsubishi's head of design, told reporters at a sneak preview of the Colt this week.

Mitsubishi is also spending 10 to 20 percent more than usual on the quality of the interior to set it apart from competing small cars, with a theme meshing two defining Japanese traits of "high-tech-ness" and Zen.

The extra spending will not make the Colt less profitable than other subcompacts because the cost will be offset by savings from sharing a platform with German partner DaimlerChrysler's <DCXGn.DE> Smart car, Mitsubishi said.

IMPORTANCE OF BEING 'MAJIME'

For Mitsubishi, the Colt's success would be proof that customers have forgiven it for its past follies.

Mitsubishi learned the importance of being earnest the hard way two years ago, when an insider's tip to authorities culminated in the company's admission of hiding defects and customer complaints for more than two decades.

That scandal ultimately led to the recall of two million cars worldwide, a loss that business year that was Mitsubishi's worst-ever, and the resignation of its president.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the Colt will sell -- scandal or no scandal.

Riding on the popularity of the affordable and functional small car segment, Mitsubishi's rivals have all released their own remodelled versions of small cars over the past few years.

Although Honda Motor Co's 17-month-old Fit is still one of the best-selling cars in Japan, Mazda Motor Corp's Demio, launched only in August, has been selling below target -- a worrying sign for demand in the segment.

Mitsubishi Motors, however, has other views.

It says the new Colt, to be sold in Europe from 2004, has a sense of quality rare in this category and will reach a wider audience due to a simple design that is both casual and chic.

"We didn't look for a funky design. We wanted to target a wide audience, and not everybody is funky," Boulay said.

"I am completely confident this car will sell."

Mitsubishi executives have set a target of selling 1,000 Colts on the day of the launch, and 15,000 by the end of the year. It hasn't disclosed the average monthly sales target yet, but company sources said it would be around 7,000 or 8,000.