M adds longer 4x4s sRoenictillsocrorts
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• At its first appearance at Birmingham Portugese manufacturer UMM announced additions to its range of 4x4 vehicles. The new 3,073mm long wheelbase models will include a crew-cab/pickup, a chassis-cab and a 12-seat personnel carrier. The chassis-cab and personnel carrier should be available by December, with the crew-cab due to follow in January.
UK importer SMC Industrial Products of Bristol is talking to bodybuilders about options including a flat-bed and agricultural body.
Future plans include increasing the payload from 1.1 tonnes to 1.5 tonnes and alternatives to the Peugeot 2.5-litre diesel engines.
"The dealer network is our priority," says SMC director Ian Williamson. "By the end of the year we hope to have 60 to 80 dealers."
Despite the state of the market, Williamson is pleased with sales so far: "The sales target for 1990 was 150 vehicles but we should easily have doubled that by the end of the year." Sales are up to 180 for the year to date. "The vehicle is specifically targeted at the public sector."
Williamson sees Land Rover as the most direct competitor for UMM, rather than Japanese-built off-road products and he believes that annual sales of up to three thousand in a few years time is a "realistic possibility."