Finally! Mitsubishi Fuzion Diesel (Di-D)

[torresmd]

MMPC pursues plan to export RP-assembled MPV to Asean



By BERNIE CAHILES MAGKILAT

Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. (MMPC) has not given up on its plan to export a locally assembled multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) for the ASEAN market as it sees an opportunity in the production of diesel-fed Fuzion, the planned entry level model, in light of the high fuel prices.

MMPC senior vice president Melchor Dizon told reporters the plan to transform the Philippines as a production for an Asian Utility Vehicle has remained under serious study.

"MMPC’s objective is to be an exporter, that remains to be our aspirational objective," Dizon said.

The all-gasoline Fuzion model, imported as completely built-up unit from Taiwan, was launched in the country last year to test the market. MMPC now sells an average of 100 units a month of Fuzion.

Originally, MMPC was part of a plan by the Japanese carmaker along with China and Taiwan to produce an AUV model.

Fuzion, which is an entry-level sports utility vehicle produced in Zinger in Taiwan, was chosen as the possible entry model. It is called Zinger in Taiwan. Under the plan, the MMPC would serve the ASEAN market.

As part of the original plan, Dizon said MMPC has an investment during the research and development stage of the Fuzion or Zinger, which is now produced in Taiwan and China.

The plan, however, had been moved back several times because there were "several plans by auto companies that we have to realign a lot of things", Dizon said.

With the high prices of gasoline compared to diesel, Dizon said this have opened doors for the assembly of Fuzion using diesel-fed engines. So far, 80 percent of MMPC’s vehicle line up are diesel-engines.

Mitsubishi locally assembles L-300, Adventure, Canter trucks and Pajero Field Master. The companies imports as CBU packs the following models, Lancer, Galant, Estrada, Eclipse, Outland, Grandis, Space Gear and Montero.

MMPC has remained a consistent second best player in the market for the past three consecutive months.

Dizon has remained confident of hitting its target this year of between 18,000 to 20,000 units from last year’s 15,000 units.

This is because 80 percent of its vehicle line-up are diesel-fed, which customers prefer because of the high cost of gasoline.

"We’re running on the higher end of our target. The impact of high fuel prices have not affected our sales," he said. MMPC has maintained its ranking for the third consecutive month as the second biggest player in the market.

"What would really affect our sales is the foreign exchange rate," Dizon said.

In fact, Dizon said the local automotive players are raising prices of motor vehicles effective next month, August, following the weakening of the peso against the U.S. greenback as most of the industry players have pegged their foreign exchange rate at P42 to P43 to the dollar.

Dizon said that industry players have pegged their foreign exchange rate below the P45 level to the dollar.

"At P44 level, there is already pressure to raise prices," Dizon said. The peso already breached the P45 level last week before appreciating to the P44 level again.

MMPC is the country’s second biggest player and has the most number of completely built-up sports utility vehicle models.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp., the country’s biggest car maker, is also poised to raise prices in August for its completely built-up units imported from Japan. These models include Prado, Land Cruiser, Previa and Hi-Ace.

Acording to Dizon, for every P1 depreciation of the local currency against the U.S. dollar, the cost impact is P5,000 to P10,000 to every unit depending on the cost structure of the vehicle.

For vehicles in the price range of P600,000, the estimated impact is P10,000 per unit while the high-end vehicles at P10,000.

Aside from the foreign exchange factor, Dizon said that the automotive industry is affected by the high cost of metals, a raw material used in the automotive sector.

Already, its local suppliers have raised prices by 20 percent. If a vehicle’s local content is 50 percent of the vehicle’s cost, then the cost impact of the increase is equivalent to 10 percent of a vehicle’s retail price.

"But we want to cushion, where we can absorb, we will absorb, where we cannot, we have to pass on," he said.(BCM)

its about time isnt it? they shouldve released this same time as d gas version. ddi fuzion vs d4d innova! lets get ready to rumble!!

[Type 100]

Indeed it's about time.

Although I can't help but wonder if this is too little too late for Mitsubishi...AGAIN. They're thinking of a local release just when diesel lost its appeal as a "cheaper" fuel.

Still, better late than never. I wonder what the specs of the diesel engine are?

[Gerbo]

Some ambivalence of such a move by MMPC. This would have been considered brilliant in 2005 (when the Innova was introduced!)

A diesel Fuzion would:
-eat the sales of the soon-to be-introduced Montero Sport II.
-interfere the market placement of the Adventure which the best-selling vehicle in the local Mitsubishi line-up.

But as an Innova-killer, it MAY have a chance....however, market forces may have shift against it
-diesel is fast catching up with the price of gasoline (its no longer cheap)
-Innova just made a killing in the MPV segment; those who already brought their unit may not be in the market for another one in the next 3-4 years.
-the segment is getting crowded with the Carens, the Livina, and soon the Freed.

On the other hand, it may do well against the Crosswind Sportivo (esp. in its current make).
So the point is...inorder for it to be a BESTSELLER it has to rise against the odds (read: amenities at a competitive price) and even at the expense of the its old sibling (the Adventure)...

For the customer..... panalo...more choices!

OT: I really had a feeling that the FM Pajero will soon be phased-out. Will the diesel Fuzion be a more viable option?

[torresmd]

they said that the diesel fuzion will be positioned at the lower end of the mitsu commercial vehicle line up. the end of the venerable adventure finally? sa mga dealers, deep ang discount ng adventure ngayon, mga 50k. it may be a sign na inuubos ang stocks. it wouldnt make market sense to field two models which will just eat into each others market, di b? also, though diesel is now relativelymore expensive as compared to gas, MODERN diesel engines squeeze more kms per liter compared to both OLD SCHOOL diesels & modern large-displacement gas engines, so i think it still makes good sense in the long run. diesels have their place in the modern hiways

[xTrememan]

Sana DI-D na din yung Fuzion at hindi yung 4G63 na old school. Ahaha! Sana matuloy ang tsismis na yan. ^_^

[redshift]

Hopefully they wont price it too far above the petrol powered fuzion...with diesel only Php3 lower than gasoline, it'll be quite a hard proposition to justify its price...

In the other forums, most diesel owners only report 11 - 14 kms/l in their fuel consumption databases...quite disappointing since a well driven petrol car can achieve the same thing. I wonder if its the quality of the diesel fuel sold here since the ones in Europe can achieve almost 20kms/l.

Hope they can also bring over the Colt here to battle with the vios and jazz...

[ianmitsulancer]

the perfect engine for this is the 2.5 4D56 CRDi Di-D making 116hp. this is being used in thailand to power the basic thai triton 4x2 - this is stronger than the D4D 2.5 innova at 102hp.

add the intercooler to raise it to 136hp!

[niky]

Finally.

Just hope it isn't too late (in terms of market share).

But diesel demand will still remain strong in the following months... despite the higher cost of diesel units and the comparable prices of gasoline and diesel, diesel mills are still more fuel efficient than gasoline mills of the same power.

[numbah5]

Knowing MMPC, na ayaw talaga magpatalo sa Toyota Motor Phils. ngayon, they will put the 4D56 DI-D CRDi on the Fuzion. Halos lahat ng engine nila sa mga line-up nila is puro MIVEC at DI-D CRDi, pero tingin ko either they will put the 4D56 DI-D CRDi Turbo, or the 4D56 DI-D CRDi Turbo Intercooler. If they put the latter, and siguro ang price difference is just 300-500k more than the gas version, but still with the same features and amenities with the gas version, it will SURELY BE AN INNOVA killer.

[ITMA]

Hello To All,

Any news or updates on this thread?

I hope Mitsu WILL have something on the Fuzion in tomorrow's 2nd PIMS (Phil Int'l Motor Show). As they say, better late than never.

Still, please post if you have any updates on a Di-D version of the Fuzion.

Salamat po.