Jun. 24--Roadshows at department stores and hypermarkets were a bright spot for Mitsubishi Motors Thailand amid gloomy sales in the first five months of this year.

Takaaki Kishii, chief of Mitsubishi's marketing office in Thailand, said store roadshows conducted jointly with dealers received a better response than expected.

Sales through roadshows in March and April accounted for 7.8 percent of the 2,936 vehicles Mitsubishi sold in the period. The roadshows also enabled the company to identify more than 1,600 potential customers for follow-up calls.

"This is our new marketing strategy, to focus on organising activities to reach the target groups by displaying vehicles in department stores and superstores as well as on organising activities for special customer groups and the old customers who have high brand loyalty to Mitsubishi," said Mr Kishii.

Although Thailand's automotive market is increasingly troubled, Mitsubishi will not compete through price cutting. Its marketing strategy will instead focus on product awareness.

The behaviour of car buyers has changed considerably, said Mr Kishii. While they would previously purchase at showrooms, they are now buying at department stores or car exhibitions.

"It's not just convenient, customers also have the opportunity to consider and compare other relevant factors such as car models, prices and promotional campaigns of each brand to help make an easier decision," he said.

Roadshows are the right marketing strategy given the automotive industry's poor outlook, said Mr Kishii. Mitsubishi plans further roadshows this year to expand its customer base and to widen consumer awareness with a limited budget.

Mitsubishi saw a drop across all segments in its vehicles sales in Thailand in the first five months of this year.The company's sales for January-May fell 47.5 percent year-on-year to 6,439 units. Sales of pickup trucks dipped 49.9 percent to 5,302 units while car sales fell 32.5 percent to 1,136 units.

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