The pre-National Fieldays marketing campaign for the 4×4 double cab ute segment has already begun with Mitsubishi, Ford, Toyota, Holden, and Mazda all strategically price pointing specific models to drum up business with the rural buyer.
Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand head of sales and marketing strategy Daniel Cook says that a reasonable chunk of the more than 3200 light commercial vehicle arrivals from Thailand in April would have been the new model year 2015 Triton ute.
“We currently have 450 units of the new 2015 Triton on the ground and we still don’t have enough to meet dealer demand with the mix of models in stock, says Cook.
“Our dealers are excited about the prospects for new Triton sales in May and June, and already we are getting positive feedback from customers who have driven the new vehicle – we are expecting strong sales in May and June around Fieldays.
“We are definitely stocking up for the demand, we have another 1000 units on the water, so there will be at least 300 units delivered every month for the next quarter, we are on target to sell between 2500 and 3000 units this year, effectively doubling last year’s Triton sales.
Cook says the last of the old model year 2014 Triton units have been wholesaled to dealers and will be gone by the end of May. From June, he says, dealers will be holding stocks of the all-new 2015 Triton and there will be only one transaction priced model promoted for Fieldays.
The sole transactionally priced Mitsubishi Triton will be the Double Cab GLS 4×4 manual at $44,490 (Usual RRP $57,490) for the month of May and June, and Cook says that customers will have to talk with their dealers about other deals to be had on the other new Triton models.
Cook says that Fieldays can also drive sales of the Pajero, Challenger, and Outlander SUV, and that there certainly is a flow on effect from customers coming into the Mystery Creek stand or local dealerships to view the Triton, but he says the bulk of sales will be the ute as farmers are conditioned to buy at this time.
Ford New Zealand communications manager Tom Clancy was unable to comment to DIESELtalk on the exact numbers of the current Ranger being held in stock by the company, or the number which are now on the water from the Thai factory.
“Demand is still high from the dealers and the customers, we’re still selling nearly 500 units a month and we will continue to have the supply to meet that demand before and beyond the National Fieldays, until the new Ranger model arrives in the third quarter, says Clancy.
Ford has already started its ‘Hot deals’ marketing campaign ahead of the National Fieldays, offering a double cab Ranger XLT 4×4 manual well-side model for a transactional price of $49,990 plus on road costs, as opposed to the RRP of $59,540 plus on road costs.
Toyota is no stranger to doing a Fielday’s deal. It is currently marketing the Hilux 4WD SR5 double cab wellside manual model for $48,900 plus on road costs, and the automatic version from $51,990 plus on road costs.
Normally the RRP on these vehicles is $62,790 and $65,290 respectively, plus on road costs.
On its website, Holden is currently marketing the manual version of its double cab Colorado LTZ 4×4 pick up from $38,990, which carries an RRP of $59,990.
On its website, Mazda New Zealand has price pointed its BT-50 4×4 GLX double cab pick up with a manual transmission to $40,475, plus on road costs. The usual RRP is $52,995 plus on road costs.
