Japanese vehicle makers are using new product features and beach-lifestyle marketing to boost sales of the lowly pickup truck in Europe, Automotive News Europe said.
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Mitsubishi introduced four-seat, club cabin and five-seat, double cabin versions of its L200 pickup to broaden the appeal beyond the basic two-seat commercial vehicle. But a Mitsubishi Portugal effort three years ago that linked beach life to a sporty yellow L200 derivative boosted annual sales among young buyers by 156% to 6,700 units between 1996 and 2000.
The beach-culture tactic was a new way of trying to change European perceptions about pickups.
In the USA, pickups are bought for personal use instead of their original purpose as utilitarian farm and construction vehicles. To attract buyers, US makers added upscale radios, air conditioning, power steering, electric windows and better seating.
The Japanese developed compact pickups. US pickup sales totaled 3.13 million last year, 18.5% of total US light-vehicle sales.
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By GlobalDataBut pickups have never been a popular choice in Europe, even as commercial vehicles. Europeans want fuel efficiency, narrow vehicles, security for tools and materials, and covered cargo areas.
There, pickup sales are concentrated among the Japanese, mainly Mitsubishi and Nissan, with smaller shares for Toyota, Mazda and Isuzu. Western European pickup sales rose 16.5% to 128,216 units last year, a mere 0.9% of total sales, according to JATO Dynamics.
“Between the United States and Europe, there’s a big difference because of cultural traditions and market size,” said Guilherme Castro, marketing communications manager of Mitsubishi Portugal.
But Mitsubishi anticipates a boom of up to 120,000 additional units in annual European pickup sales by 2006. Four players will introduce new generations of pickups by then.
And the Japanese are learning how to sell pickups to Europeans. They take advantage of tax incentives, pursue niches in local markets and offer a variety of configurations.
Mitsubishi Portugal developed a special Strakar derivative of the L200 with secure storage, youth-oriented equipment and graphics, air conditioning and electric windows. “Customers wanted double-cabin, five-seat models to combine work usage with leisure on the weekends,” said Vilhena Julio, product development manager of Mitsubishi Portugal. Then Mitsubishi added a Strakar sports version with a 136hp turbodiesel, shortened 1200mm pickup bed and tough-looking bumpers “to associate it with our competition engagement in the Paris-Dakar [rally],” said Julio.
Mitsubishi Portugal designed a Strakar model to look like a beach vehicle in the television series Baywatch and provided 25 of them to Portuguese beach lifeguards. Mitsubishi’s French distributor is talking to French coast guards about setting up a similar deal this summer.
By changing cargo capacity to 1 ton this year, the all-new Mazda B-series pickup qualifies for substantially lower taxes in the UK.
Mitsubishi in Spain and the UK is offering special-edition Black Warrior and Animal pickups.
Tuners and aftermarket companies are exploring the potential of the pickup segment. For example, Xiraplas of Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal, is adding a €2 million facility to produce cargo storage units for pickup beds.
The Japanese import their pickups from Asia [mainly Thailand which is now the Japanese manufacturers’ ‘Pickup Central’ assembly base] for sale in Europe. But Nissan is considering building its next generation pickup in Spain starting in 2005.
And a consultant advising manufacturers in the segment suggests even European automakers are taking an interest in pickups. Daimler-Chrysler is considering importing a Dodge pickup, the consultant said.
He added: “In the near future it’s not impossible to see a Nissan pickup with a Renault badge or a Volkswagen pickup,” Automotive News Europe said.
Two decades ago, Volkswagen built a pickup version of its Mark I Golf/Rabbit hatchback. And Ford South Africa adapted Ford of Europe’s first generation Fiesta into a small pickup [called a ‘bakkie’ there], which was also marketed in Africa as a Mazda.
