Mitsubishi starts exporting Xpander MPV from Indonesia to the Philippines

MANILA: The buyers in the Philippines are set to get the all-new Mitsubishi Xpander soon. And this new model will be an imported one, manufactured in the company’s plant in Bekasi, Indonesia. In fact, the country will be the first in the ASEAN region to receive the Indonesia-exported Xpander.

The President of Indonesia and Ministry of Industry, Mr. Joko Widodo and Mr. Airlangga Hartarto respectively, were present at the event and were accompanied by Osamu Masuko, the CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.

The CEO of MMC quoted that he was extremely delighted that the company could contribute to Indonesia’s growth. The country has been extremely supportive to Mitsubishi since it first started operation 50 years back. This export is also considered to be a very significant milestone in the company’s plans, besides helping gain a very strong foundation within the Asean countries.

Moreover, the best thing for Mitsubishi Motors is that this is the first instance when the company will be exporting massive scale vehicles from Indonesia. It would be exporting around 30,000 units of the Xpander in the year alone. Plus, the dealers in the Philippines have already taken up orders of over 3000 vehicles.

The Bekasi manufacturing facility in Indonesia currently has a production capacity of 160,000 units a year, out of which half is taken up by the Xpander MPV. Hence, to meet the demands, the company has planned to increase the capacity by up to 10,000 units a month at the beginning of July.

The Mitsubishi Xpander is presently Indonesia’s 2018 Car of the Year. The car is powered by a 1.5-litre engine which is capable of making a maximum power of 103 hp at 6,000 revs per minute along with a peak torque of 141 Nm at 4,000 revs per minute.

Following the export to the Philippines, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Indonesia will also start exporting the Xpander to other countries like Vietnam, Thailand, etc., in the coming months. The deliveries of the first batch of the imported Xpander to the customers in the Philippines will commence in May.