New owners keen to exploit manufacturer's 50-year history in general aviation
Mooney Airplane has launched a branding campaign and is stepping up its sales drive in a bid to revitalise and expand its share of the general aviation market.
Private equity company Allen Holding Finance acquired the manufacturer in June from Mooney Aerospace Group (Flight International, 8-14 June).
The company is seeking to maximise the value of the Mooney brand, exploiting the company's 50-year history of producing high- performance single-engined aircraft, says Mooney Airplane vice- president for sales and marketing Dave Copeland.
"We are taking aggressive action not only to increase Mooney sales, but also to offer greater customer support to our 8,000 owners worldwide," Copeland says.
The Kerrville, Texas-based company also wants to expand its product line and may offer a two-seat trainer and light-sport aircraft which will draw young and new pilots to the Mooney brand, where the entry price now starts at $319,000 for an M20R Ovation.
The company says it is likely to enter these new markets either through outright acquisition or a joint venture partnership in an existing programme.
The company is believed to have narrowed its choice to a handful of light-sport aircraft candidates. The shortlist excludes the two-seat Toxo II, manufactured by Spain's Construcciones Aeron uticas de Galicia (CAG), with which Mooney has a strategic relationship, as the Toxo is too heavy to qualify under the new category.
Source: Flight International
