The return of the Mitsubishi Lancer to Philippine assembly lines was marked with the relaunch of the 2010 Lancer EX a few weeks ago.

The sedan was unveiled as the 500,000th unit to roll off Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.’s (MMPC) Rizal plant since 1964, when it began manufacturing in the country under Chrysler Philippines Corp.

The decision to revive local production instead of sourcing the vehicle from Thailand is claimed to boost MMPC’s manufacturing capabilities via a P200-million investment and also shield the unit from forex fluctuations, officials said.

Before this, Mitsubishi’s local unit only made utility vehicles, trucks, vans and buses.

For buyers, the Lancer EX’s Philippine assembly will mean the sedan can be had at a lower price, Executive vice-president Taizo Furuhashi said at a press briefing.

“The main reason we stopped in 2002 was because of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area tariff reduction,” MMPC President Masahiko Ueki said.

“But even with reduced tariff, competitors produced locally. We couldn’t enjoy the price gap.”

Now, Mitsubishi is targeting selling 2,000 of the locally made Lancer EX per year, Mr. Ueki said. If achieved, this will mean the sedan cornering roughly 5% of annual passenger car sales based on full year industry sales in 2008.

The model goes for P920,000 to P1.29 million depending on the variant. All are fitted with a two-liter 16-valve DOHC Mivec gas engine with a maximum power of 155 ps/6,000 rpm and a torque of 199 N-m/4,250 rpm.

It comes with either a manual tranny or a Sportronic transmission, the term used for a hybrid system that allows the driver to choose between automatic gear-shifting or electronically-guided manual shifting. The manual variant, the Lancer EX 2.0 GLX MT, is a five-speed while the Sportronic GLS CVT and GTA CvT are six-speeds.

Aside from the Philippines, the sedan is also manufactured in Japan, China, Taiwan and Thailand.

Jessica Anne D. Hermosa, Business World Online

Tsikot.com Philippines