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| Sunday, 03 August 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The United Motors Lanka Ltd (UMLL), the No. 1 seller of brand new vehicles in Sri Lanka, are enjoying their best ever financial year this year. The 58-year-old company in the motor trade, held their AGM recently, and it was announced that they had recorded a turnover of Rs. 2.8 billion. During the year the company became the sole distributor for Valvoline lubricating oils and car care products in Sri Lanka. UMLLS's first year as distributor of Valvoline lubricants and car acre products met with limited success. During the year trading in tractors, tractor spares and accessories were taken over by UMLL'S Agencies and Distributors Ltd. The wide ranging luxurious Mitsubishi Galant, Verada, Magna and Montero plus the company "workhorses" Canter Trucks and Rosa buses from the Mitsubishi stable comprise some of their products. Four new Mitsubishi models were launched this year which is a record for any given year. Another "best" is that those who purchase Mitsubishi parts automatically become members of the Mitsubishi Motors Club (MMC) for the 1st year and enjoy the benefits. UMLL's Vision is to be the Best Company in Sri Lanka through diversification whilst maintaining leadership position in the transport industry. Recently, United Motors has got involved in a sporting cause when they tied up with the Cricket Board to help the wheels of officialdom run smoother by signing a contract to be the Official Transport Provider for the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL). The tie up will result in United Motors sponsoring the vehicle requirements of the BCCSL and thus providing Mitsubishi Vehicles to the officials of the BCCSL. The vehicles offered would be the Mitsubishi Lancer 2003 which was only launched last month at the Dambulla stadium when the "Most valuable Player of the Series" was awarded by the Mitsubishi Lancer. In addition batting stars, the explosive Sanath Jayasuriya and the technically correct Marvan Atapattu, and spin wizard Mutthiah Muralitharan have signed up with TVS (Lanka) Ltd, a company in the United Motors Group, to act as Ambassadors for TVS Motorcycles in Sri Lanka. In February this year United Motors Lanka Ltd entered into a joint venture Agreement with TVS India to distribute the TVS range of motorcycles and scooters in Sri Lanka. The new partnership between UMLL and TVS Group will result in UMLL acquiring a 50% interest in TVS Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, which is a longstanding subsidiary of TVS Group, India. They presented TVS Victor motorcycles to the seven winners of the "Best Batsman" award, at the same series. TVS Victor bikes are also endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar, India's greatest batsman at present. This state-of the art bike from TVS Motor company has been awarded the prestigious National Award 2002 for Successful Commercialization for indigenous technology from the Technology Development Board, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India. TVS is the 2 wheeler company in the world to receive the prestigious Deming Award for quality. During the first sixty days the Company was able to market more than 600 motor cycles. This could well serve as an indication of the viability and long term success of this project. In a further tie-up with Sports, United Motors also proudly announced the sponsorship of four of Sri Lanka's leading racing drivers. Dinesh Deheragoda, Nishan Weerasooriya, Riyaz Farook and Gamini Nelson will all from henceforth drive Mitsubishi vehicles, which have been internationally acclaimed as rally winning vehicles. Dinesh Deheragoda will race in the Mitsubishi Evolution V111 this year and the EVO V111 will make its debut on the Sri Lankan Racing Track on June 8 2003 at Pannala. Dinesh had been winning on a winning streak last year and hopes to record the same kind of success this year as well. The power, performance, and reliability of Mitsubishi vehicles has won the confidence of Dinesh, Nishan and Riyaz. As regards the Workshop Complex itself it is spread over seven acres of land at Orugodawatte, the gateway to the city of Colombo. In addition to its spare parts outlets at Hyde Park and Orugodawatte they have also opened up branches in Panchikawatte, Nugegoda, Kurunegala, Ratnapura and Nuwara Eliya. During the financial year just concluded United Motors took great pride in announcing that they have reached unprecedented heights this year by achieving a turnover of Rs. 2.7 billion which is an increase of 73.5% over last year. 93.2% of this increase was from vehicle sales which recorded a growth of 105% over last year. Mainly due to the curtailment of vehicle purchases by the public sector the volume of vehicle imports to Sri Lanka, particularly brand new vehicles have reduced by over 50% over the last two years. by Pelham Juriansz |
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