Mauritius adopts CO2 Emissions Green Tax, Nissan NV200, New Micra K13, Mitsubishi Colt

It’s good to see the award winning NV 200 (the new Nissan Vanette) reaching our shores for about Rs 600,000. Now the Peugeot Bipper/Partner has a contender. Although the Bipper is more affordable and comes in more economical diesel engine, hardcore Japanese fans.

Good to see as well is the new Micra with a 1.2 L 3-cylinder new engine that’s going to be able to compete with peers for fuel economy. Coupled with a 7-year 100,000 km warranty, ABC Motors knows its business. I guess many Mauritians won’t see the a-bit-dull looks and lower quality (according to foreign journalists).

The Mitsubishi Colt is finally here, abeit the older model. I hope they advertise that it has SIX (6) seats as opposed to 5 for all other hatchbacks in its category (Vitz, Fit, Demio, 207, Fiesta).

Finally the introduction of the green tax soon will be a good thing. It’ll be a system similar to France with bonus and mallus applied depending on your car’s CO2 (carbon dioxide) emission. To be honest, I think the bonus is way too little. It should have been read more

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Why Toyota Mauritius Is Lagging Behind In Sales

Recent figures from MotorMag magazine shows that although the Corolla is still their best selling model – for Toyota Mauritius (also known as Beechand previously) market share is falling. The total sales have also fallen for the group for the first quarter of 2009. Now this trend is not due to recession, it’s the relative market share on the local market and the reason to me, is obvious…

There has been a clear lack of 1. correct models and options for Mauritius; 2. inaccurate and incomplete marketing campaigns. Let’s take them one by one. Anyone who wants to critic me is open to do so.

Let’s consider the E150 Corolla that they’ve been bringing for about 2 years only as a 4-speed automatic 1.5L. Now come on, everyone knows that Mauritians who buy Japanese prefer manual gearbox. Simply offering only that (in ads) was a deterrant to many Toyota-lovers. Ah, it’s only now, after so many months that they’ve started to offer the 1.6L 5-speed manual… Late I’d say, when the market has been taken by Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Lancer (Iframac claims the Lancer to be no 1 in sales for mid-size vehicles for 2007 and 2008 although the Lancer is more a compact sedan rather than a mid-size -MotorMag, June 2009).
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