KUCHING: Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia Sdn Bhd is hoping to achieve its target of 20 per cent in car sales growth in Sarawak next year.

To meet the target, its chief executive officer Keizo Ono said the company was doing its best to reinforce its sales in the state by appointing new dealers like Jimisar Autotrade Sdn Bhd and establishing new showrooms.

“Up to September this year, Sarawak has contributed to about 10 per cent of our total sales in Malaysia and we see that there is a big demand for pickup trucks here,” Keizo told reporters after performing the earth-breaking ceremony of Jimisar’s new Mitsubishi 3S Centre at Jalan Sherif Masahor here yesterday.

He said Mitsubishi was placing its utmost trust and confidence in Jimisar because it had a capable team of experienced sales staff.

“This is especially so when the centre starts its operation next year, Jimisar can more than double its current sales of 30 units per month,” he pointed out.

Keizo said Mitsubishi Motors was also thinking of appointing new independent dealers in other cities and towns like Miri and Sibu within this year to boost car sales.

“Presently we have four outlets – in Bintulu, Miri, Kuching and Sibu,” he said.

As for the whole of Malaysia, Keizo said from January to September this year, Mitsubishi’s car sales had already reached 5,700 units compared to 4,400 units in the same period last year.

“It’s a little bit better than our expectation,” he said.

He said despite a decline in the automotive market this year, Mitsubishi Motors had defied the odds and achieved a significant result of 74.2 per cent in total car sales growth for the first nine months of 2008.

He said the launch of new variants of the Triton — Triton Lite (4×2) and Triton 3.2 (4×4) pickup trucks — in June was one of the factors that had contributed to the increase in sales.

“We are already number one in market share in some states like Penang, Kelantan and Terengganu and as for Sarawak, we are hoping to be number two in market share,” he added.

Keizo was also pleased to note that the company had won two awards at the Autocar Asean’s 2008 Car of the Year Awards — one for Triton Lite for the Pickup of the Year and the other for the Grandis for the Small/Medium MPV of the Year.

Asked if Mitsubishi’s sales in Malaysia were affected by gloomy economic outlook in Asian countries and the world economic crisis, Keizo said: “Not so. The Malaysian market is very different from other Asian countries where it is very stable and the financial segment is quite strong because of strict control by the Malaysian government.”

He said the company was going to introduce one to three new SUV (sports utility vehicles) models in the first half of 2009 during a motor show festival in Kuala Lumpur in May.

So far this year, Mitsubishi Motors has launched three new models namely Triton Lite, Triton 3.2 and Lancer New Evo.

The Triton pickup truck sales volume achieved yet another remarkable growth with more than 3,700 units sold up to September this year, making Mitsubishi Motors’ pick-up truck the second most popular pickup truck in the country with a 19 per cent share in the segment.