Pajero V73 is the only model of Pajero series found in Chinese market. According to the lawyer for the prosecutors, it is the only case concerning quality problems of Pajero accepted by legal organs since the Pajero V31, V33 issues in China.

Li Wanhua, lawyer for the prosecutors from Beijing Wenzhong Lawyer's Office, told the journalist that the key point of the reason why the court accepted the lawsuit lies in the authentic evidences provided by the prosecutors.

The prosecutors have great confidence in winning the lawsuit. The four prosecutors have paid 47,000 yuan for the legal fare. The court session will be opened in certain days.

As sources show, Liu Wenhong, one of the prosecutors of the lawsuit, purchased a Pajero V73 land-cruiser produced by Mitsubishi in the bonded zone in Tianjin on August 25, 2000. In the same day, Liu Wenhong and Chen Ping, another prosecutor, drove the vehicle home in Xi'an in turns. After some time of driving on the Kaifeng-Luoyang expressway, Chen Ping suddenly noticed a small fraise on the road. He immediately stepped on the brake to slow down for a detour. Unexpectedly, the braking system of the vehicle failed to work, which led the land-cruiser out of control and broke through the railings. The Pajero tumbled into the ditch, which is over ten meters in depth. The four persons in the vehicle were severely injured and the car was also seriously damaged.

The four prosecutors claim for the compensation totaling 2.9 million yuan which include fees for medical treatment, nursing, loss of working time and further treatment, etc. Among the amount of the compensation, the fees for mental loss hit 1.2 million yuan. Moreover, as the owner of the Pajero V73, Liu Wenhong demanded to return his land-cruiser and asked for a double compensation based on the price of the original product. The returned amount reaches 1.1 million yuan. Lawyer Li explained that a double compensation is for the deceitful behavior of Mitsubishi.

Before the lawsuit against Pajero V73, Pajero V31 and V33 have been prohibited in China. On February 9, 2001, the State Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine Bureau announced to ban the imports of Pajero V31 and V33 land-cruisers. On February 26, China State Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, the Ministry of Public Security, General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation jointly issued a notice in revoking the quota and import safety permit for Pajero V31, V33 land-cruisers as from February 9. According to the notice, no foreign trade import units will be allowed to sign any import contracts and no application for inspection and declaration will be accepted.

Inside personages point out Pajero V73 is the latest model of Mitsubishi Pajero land-cruisers in China. Since a ban was placed on Pajero V31, V33, Mitsubishi Corp. has straind every nerve to maintain its proportion of Pajero in Chinese market. However, if the prosecutors win the lawsuit proving quality problems on Pajero V73, Mitsubishi Pajero will probably vanish from Chinese market.

Mitsubishi's Response Unsatisfactory: CCA

After a long time of playing rascality Mitsubishi Motors finally shows its stand about calling back its Pajero V31, V33 land-cruisers for inspection lately. However, China Consumers' Association (CCA) pointed out that Mitsubishi failed to give a full answer to the problem on compensations that will have to be made to Chinese customers.

Mitsubishi Beijing Office avows that Mitsubishi will take emergency measures to step up production of improved braking vittas for its Pajero V31 and V33 land-cruisers. That it will soon send these to China and re-calculate the guarantee periods of the examined parts on the basis of inspection dates with 10 new service stations added to its 44 service centers in China.

(21dnn 04/18/2001)