AMID the spectacular Manila Bay sunsets, hundreds were treated to a veritable festival of all things Mitsubishi, at the Mitsubishi Motors Expo 2011 held at the SM Mall of Asia. The five-day event was Mitsubishi Motors Philippines’ way of thanking its valued customers, and to entice potential customers with a slew of fantastic offers, perks and attractions. In partnership with BPI Family Bank, BDO and PSBank, Mitsubishi rolled out very-hard-to-resist all-in financing plans to finally convince those still mulling over acquiring a new Mitsubishi. Some who weren’t originally planning to do so were certainly swayed by the aggressive offers to trade in their old cars with a P30,000 incentive bonus over their cars’ appraised value. Those who traded in their old Mitsubishis even got an additional P20,000 as a loyalty bonus on top of the P30,000. Discounts worth up to P50,000 per unit were also given out, along with a chance to win in the P500,000 cash back raffle—they went all out indeed.
At the mini-car show area, Cosplay characters greeted the guests and ushered them in to check out the impressive 15-car display that included a replica of the racing Lancer that was debuted in the 2009 Argentina Dakar Rally. The Lancer Evolution X game car was certainly a hit as kids and adults alike queued up to give it a whirl… it’s a real Lancer Evo X body fitted with a couple of Sony PS3 gaming consoles running the hugely popular Gran Turismo 5 racing game under the hood instead of an engine. A large Sony display was then positioned right in front of the car, and wide-eyed gamers got to play the game seated in the Evo X, working its steering wheel and pedals for an extreme gaming experience indeed. Visitors mused at the extensive lineup of Mitsubishi vehicles that included its light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses.
Outside of the display area, guests were treated to test drives of its best-selling models, like the Montero Sport and Strada that are now equipped with Variable Geometry Turbo, along with its award-winning ASX Crossover (2010 to 2011 Car of the Year, Best Compact Crossover). Mitsubishi owners were also given free 12-point checkups for their vehicles on site. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines also hosted a Mitsu Car Club meet, and gave out awards for outstanding participants during a live mini-concert held over the weekend, with the program broadcast live by FM radio station 99.5RT.
MMPC’s new president and CEO, Hikosaburo Shibata, was effusive, for it was certainly a great time to assume his new post, citing a 13-percent growth right on the first quarter of 2011 with 8,143 total units sold—an indication of the brand’s strong momentum, closing last year with a 39.5-percent growth from a total of 32,422 units sold. The Mitsubishi Motors Expo 2011 made quite an impact, as it surely would reflect on its sustained growth throughout the year. Creative promotions like this would only work if the products it stems from are exceptional to begin with—as what’s proven with what MMPC is rolling out lately.
In Photo: Display and test-drive units lined up at the SM Mall of Asia grounds. Mall goers took advantage of checking out the Mitsu of their dreams hands-on. (Ardie O. Lopez)
