Car maker takes its show on the road
The unparalleled boom in India's passenger car market has received an even bigger boost with Hindustan Motors (HM) announcing its intention to hold countrywide road shows to publicise the features of the Mitsubishi Lancer car that it will be manufacturing.
'We are keen to create market awareness for the Lancer prior to the actual launch, so that it is in a position to take on the other existing vehicles in the mid-size cars segment,' C K Rao, HM's vice-president of marketing, said.
The Opel Astra (also from HM), Ford Escort (from Mahindra Ford India), Cielo (from DCM-Daewoo Motors) and the Esteem (from Maruti Udyog, a collaboration with Suzuki of Japan) are the other mid-size family cars available in India.
The road show, which will travel to Bombay, New Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Hyderabad and Bangalore and several smaller cities over the next seven months, is the first time a manufacturer will expose his product to such a large audience, almost a year before the planned official launch.
'The road show will help people to evaluate all the products on offer, and judge for themselves the value. We will also benefit from the first-hand reactions of prospective customers of the Lancer,' Nr Rao said.
HM, which has a collaboration with General Motors for the German-made Opel Astra, is to set up a factory near Madras (officially known as 'Chennai'), in a venture with Mitsubishi Motors of Japan.
