-Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) today
announced that it had received 5,018 orders for its new Grandis minivan
as of Sunday, May 18.
At a press conference to launch the Grandis last Wednesday, MMC declared
it would donate 3,000 yen to the Astro Boy Fund for each order it received
by May 18, aiming for 3,000 orders in total. Actual orders exceeded this
target by 2,018 units, bringing the company's total contribution to 15.054
million yen.
Astro Boy, or Tetsuwan Atomu as he is known in Japan, and Takayuki
Matsutani-president of Tezuka Productions, the company which bears the
namesake of Astro Boy's legendry creator Osamu Tezuka and is responsible
for licensing of the character-received the donation on behalf of the
Fund yesterday from MMC's President and CEO Rolf Eckrodt. The ceremony
took place during the MMC Family Dream Festival held at the company's
new Shinagawa headquarters.
The Astro Boy Fund's agenda calls for supporting the health and well-being
of children around the world and providing them with the means to create
their own future. The Fund will hand all donations over to UNICEF. MMC
chose to donate to the Fund because of this commitment to helping children,
which is perfectly matched to the main customer base of the Grandis: young
families.
MMC will continue to support the Astro Boy Fund by placing donation boxes
in the company's showrooms nationwide for the public to make contributions.
