Mitsubishi Motors to introduce Xpander in Africa, Middle East and South America

ABU DHABI: After the immense success of Xpander MPV in Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, Mitsubishi Motors is planning to introduce it in other markets as well, including those of South America, Middle East, Africa, and some parts of Asia. The MPV has grossed over 100,000 orders only in the Indonesian market till date.

With the demand of the car rising, the manufacturer opted for Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance to utilize its benefits. Mitsubishi Motors even said that they will increase the production capacity of the Bekasi facility in Indonesia. The Xpander MPV holds much of the plant’s capacity which only a small portion of the plant is used for the production of the Montero Sport on the basis of local demand.

The production of the Xpander will increase as the demand of the vehicle is pretty much high in Indonesia and other ASEAN markets. It is expected that the capacity will increase from the 160,000 units annually to 220,000 by the financial year 2020.

The four-cylinder, 1.5-litre MIVEC engine of Xpander will also be sourced from Nissan Motor Indonesia, which is the local branch of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. This will help in speeding up the production of the Xpander due to the localisation. Previously, the engines were brought from Kyoto in Japan.

The local availability of the parts of Xpander will increase from 70% to 80%, as the engines will now move in from Nissan’s Indonesian plant itself. It will be the first time when Mitsubishi will utilize the engines which are made by Nissan. Annually, this Nissan plant promises to supply around 160,000 units of engine.

It is not the first time when the Mitsubishi Motors spoke about increasing the production. Earlier, the company manufactured 100,000 units of Xpander in a year, while was then increased to 120,000 unit due to the MPV’s popularity.

On the other hand, Nissan has the plan of building its own MPV for the ASEAN countries.