The April result consolidated the company’s solid growth through the 2008 calendar year, with a year-to-date increase of 19.6 per cent across the imported range.

Strong demand for the Outlander, Pajero, Triton and Express models during April saw the company record total sales of these models of 3,141 vehicles, up 965 units or 44.3 per cent on April 2007.

Robert McEniry, President and CEO of MMAL, commented on the increasing popularity of the company’s legendary two- and four-wheel drive LCV and SUV vehicles.

“Our practical light commercial and four-wheel drive vehicles, particularly the Triton utility and Outlander compact SUV, continue to enjoy burgeoning sales. With the launch of the new 2.5-litre diesel two-wheel drive Triton, we expect to see this expansion continue,” Mr McEniry said.

Mitsubishi’s compact all-wheel drive Outlander registered its best-ever April result with 824 sales, an increase of 97.6 percent over the same month in 2007.

The company’s new four-wheel drive star, the Triton utility, also recorded its best ever April result with a total of 787 sales during the month. The two-wheel drive version of the Triton continued to impress with 634 vehicles sold, up 83.2 per cent on April 2007.

Finally, sales of the company’s Express van, which underwent a minor facelift earlier in the year, rose by a strong 63.3 per cent during the month to record a total of 343 sales.

Mitsubishi’s landmark Lancer small-car sedan also sold strongly with a total of 1,317 vehicle sales recorded – an increase of 20.1 per cent over April 2007. While both the light car Colt and people mover Grandis models saw a slight decrease in sales during the month, on a year-to-date basis both models are still well ahead of 2007 figures. During April, the successful run-out of the 380 sedan continued on-track, with vehicles now in short supply.

Overall, the company recorded total sales of 5,007 vehicles during April, a 15.8 per cent increase over April 2008 and a 7.7 per cent increase on a year-to-date basis – comfortably in front of the average market increase of 11.2 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively.