Big revolution in the Evolution

The release in Japan of the Lancer Evolution IX station wagon comes as Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand gears up for the launch next month of the 380 sedan, the replacement for the Diamante.

The timing is not coincidental. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is calling 2005 its "fightback year" as it sets out to recover with a new business strategy and new chief executive officer the billions of dollars lost in the past few years.

The new guard in Japan admits the failures: the car defects the old guard hid for decades; the corporate shenanigans; the huge losses from buyers in the US with bad credit.

Then there were the vehicle recalls and the subsequent lost sales, millions of them. In the end the corporation lost the support and financial backing of its main shareholder DaimlerChrysler.

The corporation gave DC a going-away present: a 20 per cent holding in a bus and truck subsidiary company. DC still has 12 per cent of MMC, down from upwards of 35 per cent.

But Mitsubishi is upbeat as it talks of how the revitalisation plan it launched in January is starting to pay off; how it is restructuring operations in North America; how expanding sales in Asia and Europe will help it reach a projected global sales increase of around 2 per cent over the next two years.

It lays out its new model line-up: Triton light truck; Pajero four-wheel-drive; Outlander (Airtrek) wagon; Lancer sedan and hatchback; Lancer Evolution X; Colt upgrades; new Ralliart variants; an electric car by 2010 (it runs a 20kW motor at each wheel and has a range of 230km).

For Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand, the revitalisation begins with the Australian-built 380 sedan, dubbed by head office as the best of the company's global vehicles.

The four-door will be followed early next year by the Outlander. Around mid-2006 comes the Triton, cabriolet Colt (there will also be a manual version of the standard Colt) and Grandis people-mover. The new Pajero will arrive in October/November and the Evo X in 2007.

The 380 will be available in four models - ES, LS VR-X and GT Signature - each powered by a 3.8-litre V6 engine mated to a five-speed automatic gearbox with manual mode.

The car is based on the platform of the US Galant. But MMC executives say the 380 is a better all-round driving experience and more refined. It has to be: the future of Adelaide-based Mitsubishi Motors Australia largely depends on the 380. If the car is a winner, it might have an expanded development role in future models.

The 380 enters a buoyant new-car market in New Zealand. August sales of 9621 cars and commercials were up nearly 11 per cent on those in July, according to Land Transport NZ figures.

Sales for the first eight months of the year were at 68,535, almost 7 per cent up on the same time last year and on track to exceed 100,000 sales for the first time since 1989.

Toyota, Ford and Holden continued to control about 50 per cent of the market, followed by Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mazda and Honda with a combined 25 per cent.

Mitsubishi is in fourth place, a percentage point in front of Nissan. It aims to widen the gap with the mainstream 380 sedan and start chasing third-placed Holden.

The Evo IX wagon is the first load-carrier in the Lancer high-performance line-up. Mitsubishi NZ marketing manager Peter Wilkins is "seriously considering it" for sale here. It is derived from the Evo IX sedan launched here in March. The body takes the standard Lancer wagon's side and roof panels and adds reinforcements at the A, B, C and D pillar joins.

The 60/40 split rear seat, roll-up tonneau cover, three-section luggage compartment underbox, four securing hooks and accessory power socket together yield a high-utility luggage compartment, says the carmaker.

The powertrain mates the sedan's 2-litre intercooler-turbocharged engine to an electronically controlled 4WD driveline delivering around 210kW (280bhp) and 400Nm of torque.