Mitsubishi to launch the new Evolution X, luxury sedan in India
31 Mar 2008
Japanese car maker, Mitsubishi Motors is all set to enter the luxury sedan category in India with the launch of the Lancer Evolution X, also known as Evo 10. (View the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution picture gallery)
The evolution X will compete with the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat, Nissan Teana and Audi A4 in the segment.
According to Mitsubishi, the Evolution X will be launched in early 2009 for the Indian market,would be a completely imported car as the company has no plans to manufacture it locally. This would push up the cost of Evo 10 due to import duties and taxes. (View the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X video)
The five-seater Evo 10 is based on a completely new platform such as engine, exterior and interior design and is surprisingly light in weight, thanks to the aluminium engine block under the hood. The four-door car is powered by a 2-litre engine that gives out 295 bhp power. In addition, to further push the driving experience, the company has given the car a four-wheel drive (4WD) option.
Auto experts attribute the surge in demand for luxury cars in India is due to the rising economy of the country, which has led to better salaries among the country's upper-middle-class. The demand is further expected to grow to 15,000 units a year by 2011-12, say analysts.
Based on the sales response, the company will decide whether the car can be manufacturered locally or not.
Globally the Evo10 is priced at Rs12 lakh($30,473) to 13 lakh ($32,697) depending on the variant. However with the imposed duties on import, the cost will soar upto Rs21.70-Rs 23.5 lakh.
The company is also going to launch the Outlander sports utility vehicle in the later part of 2008, which would be manufactured at the Mitsubishi plant in Chennai.
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