Import sport utilities flood lucrative U.S. market

NEW YORK, March 27 Reuters is reporting that Japan's automakers are launching an all-out assault on the fruitful U.S. sport utility vehicle market, aiming to step up their already formidable presence in one of the industry's fastest-growing segments.

The major Asian automakers -- Toyota Motor Corp. , Honda Motor Co. , Nissan Motor Co. , and Mitsubishi Motors -- will have dropped at least four new sport utility vehicles into the U.S. market by the end of this year, including two models unveiled at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday.

Japanese firms already have a hold on 55 percent of the rapidly-expanding crossover, or car-based, sport utility market, and Ford Motor Co.'s grip on the overall SUV segment has loosened in the face of increasing competition.

The battle for a share of the SUV set is now poised to intensify, with the introduction of a fleet of Japanese crossover, or car-based, sport utilities.

Nissan, the third-largest Japanese carmaker, unveiled its 2003 Murano crossover sport utility at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday, while fourth-ranked Mitsubishi also launched its entry-level crossover, the Outlander.

Both companies are emerging from drastic restructuring efforts aimed at inducing profits and chopping debt, and the U.S. sport utility market could be the strongest catalyst for recovery.

``We know we can't just roll out products and expect buyers to line up for them, with the exception of (the Murano),'' said Bill Kirrane, general manager of the Nissan Division.

Crossover vehicles blend the most attractive sport utility characteristics, like rugged styling and flexible passenger space, with the smoother, nimbler ride of a car.

Segment leader Ford, which initially found success with its larger Explorer and Expedition sport utilities, only recently announced it would build a car-based SUV starting in 2004 to round out its lineup.

Mitsubishi's 2003 Outlander, a modified version of the largely unsuccessful Airtrek model released last year in Japan, is a ``cool alternative to other more traditional and stodgy brands,'' Pierre Gagnon, president and chief operating officer of Mitsubishi's American arm, said on Wednesday.

The carmaker, 37 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler AG , rolled out the Outlander as part of what it calls an ``aggressive North American growth strategy'' almost exclusively tailored toward young buyers. Mitsubishi's U.S. arm is by far its most profitable division.

It aims to sell 40,000 Outlanders per year, starting at less than $19,000 each, and plans to add a fourth sport utility to its lineup nine months from now.

Nissan's currently unpriced Murano goes on sale in November, and for the first time in North America, touts Nissan's Continuously Variable Transmission, which largely eliminates gear-stepping and raises fuel efficiency.