(President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Europe)
After the commercial launch of the new Colt CZC how are the first reactions in the different countries?
Supported by a very positive press coverage across Europe, Colt CZC has been received very warmly by our Distributors. Witness for instance the 5,000 units pre-ordered by our German dealers after their national convention, i.e.: their total annual allocation! In parallel, Colt CZC is fulfilling its role as "hero model" very well too, raising awareness for our already successful Colt range.
Will Mitsubishi Europe export the Colt CZC outside Europe as well?
This is something we are considering at the moment. No final decision has been reached at this stage, but there are strong possibilities for markets like Australia where Colt CZC would act as a brand icon for the Colt family and for the Mitsubishi brand overall.
There is a long collaboration between Mitsubishi and Pininfarina. What are the advantages of this partnership?
Yes, the launch of Colt CZC marks the 10th anniversary of this collaborative partnership and we are very honoured to work with Pininfarina on this project as well: Pininfarina´s involvement turned it into reality. Colt CZC is a partnership in every sens; Design: whilst the original idea came from us through our 2003 Colt CZ2 Cabriolet concept, the production car was a collaborative effort between Pininfarina and Mitsubishi Design Europe; Roof system: Pininfarina brought its expertise in this very specific area; Production: Colt CZC is the result of a pan European effort, as all components that are not built by Pininfarina are shipped to Italy for final assembly. Of particolar importance, MMC´s NedCar plant in Born (The Netherlands) does not only supply body-in-white components, but also production engineering know-how. Such a partnership is considered a win-win venture: Pininfarina winning a major engineering/production contract and Mitsubishi Motors adding a low volume/high image hero model to top its Colt range, in one of the trendiest segments of the market.
