New Launches
Show Report: CV Show 2012
What a cracking event the 2012 Commercial Vehicle Show turned out to be, thanks in no small part to Ford… Read More
Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Long-Term Test 1
We has just taken delivery of a Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Club Cab for long-term appraisal… Read More
Ford Transit ECOnetic Brief Test
We’ve been putting a SWB 100hp 2.2TDi Euro 5 Transit 280 ECOnetic through its paces… Read More
Renault Kangoo ZE 2011 European Launch
Renault is at the forefront of manufacturers offering a mass produced factory-built electric van… Read More
Fuso Canter 2011 European Launch
Fuso has completely revamped its range of light and heavy truck Canter chassis and chassis crew cabs… Read More
Iveco Daily 2011 European Launch
Iveco has introduced new, latest generation diesels to its Daily range, along with detail changes inside and out… Read More
Ford Transit 2011 European Launch
Ford takes the iconic Transit to the next stage with an all-new range of 2.2-litre Euro 5 diesels… Read More
Volkswagen Crafter 2011 UK Launch
VW’s large panel van has undergone a serious makeover with changes to the front-end styling and the cab interior, as well as new Euro 5 diesels… Read More
Ford Transit Connect Electric Brief Test
We spent a day with the battery-powered Connect to get a better idea of what it’s like to live with in its natural, urban environment. Read More
Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL Brief Test
Currently undergoing trials with selected fleet customers in the UK, we managed to get behind the wheel of a battery-powered Vito E-CELL… Read More
Volkswagen Crafter 2011 European Launch
Volkswagen’s Crafter has undergone a midlife makeover and gets a new front-end along with new Euro 5 engines… Read More
Mitsubishi opens hotline to the boss
A hotline has been set up that allows customers to contact Mitsubishi UK boss Lance Bradley directly; It’s a link in the ‘Contact Mitsubishi’ section on the manufacturer’s main web site. “I get about one inquiry a day and they are entirely reasonable and mostly simple to sort out,” said Bradley. “I respond within a day and it sets an example to the dealers and to everyone who works at Mitsubishi that if I can do it, so can they.”
Bradley has also announced the publication of star ratings for the 110-strong dealer network as part of the ‘Dealer Search’ results on the web site so that buyers know which is the best dealer within reach. With 80 per cent of dealers getting four stars and above it's not quite the gamble it might seem, although most dealers thought he was joking when he proposed publishing the table. The ratings come from independent consumer satisfaction surveys. “We're a small, independent company so we can afford to do things differently,” Bradley commented.Mitsubishi UK will break even this and next year because the company “is putting dealer profitability above our own”, a decision backed by shareholders who, Bradley says, take a long-term view of the business. The saviour this year has been a 33.7 per cent growth in pick-up sales which account for 40 per cent of Mitsubishi's business in the UK. The L200 is built in Thailand and since the UK carries four months' stock, the recent floods there have not affected supply. Total sales for this and next year are expected to stay fairly flat at around 15,000 units.
