Industry

Nissan has taken the covers off the all-new Nissan Micra at the Geneva motor show, and now that we can see what it looks like, I can't imagine there being a lot less interest in it. The only possible way this car could be a success is if it's insanely cheap.

Honda has just unveiled a new small car concept at the 2010 Auto Expo in New Delhi. You'll never guess what they've called it, so I'll tell you: "New Small."

I really hope nobody got paid to come up with that name. But, while the name might indeed be about as imaginative as the title of this article, the car itself is much less dull. In fact, I'd say it bodes well for the chances of the Eco Car's success in Thailand when it is launched next year (2011 people).

Toyota are due to dispaly a new small car in India. The Toyota Etios (apparently meaning "the origin of") at the 2010 Delhi Auto Expo which begins later this week. Usually cars released on the Indian market don't give much insight into the Thai market, but this could be different.

A while back I did a speculative piece and suggested that the Nissan Eco Car could be on the market as soon as October 2009. Well, it's now almost 2010, so I guess you win some, but not the rest.

But this morning Nissan Thailand sent me a very nice little card in the mail, and I'm sure they won't mind me sharing it with you all here. It seems that while I was wrong about the timing of the Eco Car launch, I was probably right about the actual car Nissan would use. Read on...

The Thailand International Motor Expo 2009 came to a close on Sunday, and the final sales results are in. A grand total of 25,220 new car bookings were made at the Expo, which is 10,000 more than event organisers had forecast. This could be taken as some indication that the economic situation is improving. Or it could just mean that impulse buying is rampant.

Regardless, it is interesting to see the shakedown of the final sales results. We reported earlier on the first day's results, and now we can share the final results complete with some comments on what it means for the industry in Thailand, if anything.

The 2009 Thailand International Motor Expo is underway, and sales results from the first day have been tallied. Overall the results aren't exactly fantastic with a mere 931 cars sold, but it's early days with the show running until 13th December.

Read on for the highlights from the first day of sales, complete with a few images.

The Thailand International Motor Expo is set for another mindless run. From 2nd to 13th December prospective car buyers can go to the Impact Arena, Muang Tong Thani to check out the same cars that they can see at their local dealers. As usual the show has a theme, and this year it is: "Driving... for Sustainability."

VW is taking a more serious stab at the Thai market, and chose to show a number of interesting models at this year's Bangkok International Motor Show. But are they actually going to have a hope of selling these cars in Thailand at these prices?

Earlier I gave a brief look at some of the "highlights" from Toyota's floorspace at the 2009 Bangkok International Motor Show. Right across the aisle from Toyota is Honda who seemed more interested in some "Honda Pretty" competition thing, than they did their cars. Anyway that's the way of things at the Bangkok Motor Show, and to be fair Honda needed something to take the attention off the lack of new metal.

Visitors to the 2009 Bangkok International Motor Show will find that Toyota has a "new" Yaris, a Prius II "Prototype" and a 1/X Concept. Exciting!

Auto sales in Thailand were 30.7 percent in February than the same month last year. This is the ninth consecutive month of decline and the largest drop since June 2008. Although things are looking quite grim, there is expectation that things will pick up at the end of March when the Bangkok International Motor Show kicks off.

Although most automakers seem to be trying hard to keep a positive attitude in the face of a dramatic slow down in the industry, few are as optimistic as Hyundai Thailand. The company is eyeing 63% growth this year, and is already looking forward to introducing new cars.

Of course Hyundai can realise this 63% growth by achieving sales of just 1,500 units this year, compared to about 900 units in 2008. Hyundai's big seller is the H1, a people mover/VAN that offers good value for money despite coming into the country in CBU (completely built up) form. Hyundai will introduce a freshened up version of the H1, to be kitted out with some extra equipment, at the upcoming Bangkok Motor Show.

The situation for the global auto industry is looking increasingly bleak, and here in Thailand things are no different, with the industry posting sales figures for January that show a drop in sales of almost 30% when compared to January 2008.

Passenger car sales are down by about 10% which isn't actually all that bad. But commercial vehicle sales dipped almost 40% to just 18,558 units.

Nissan could be the first automaker to introduce its Thai eco car. According to the Bangkok Post, Nissan could have its car to market as soon as October 2009.

It still isn't clear which car Nissan will use for the project, but the March seems likely candidate. The March, also known as the Micra, is currently a Japanese/European car, but the 2010 March (due out near the end of 2009), is to be more of a global model, and this would make it ideal for the eco car project.

GM/Holden is to take advantage of a Federal Government AUS$6 billion car plan, and build a four-cylinder car in Australia starting in 2010. The car is to be based on the Chevrolet Cruze, a global car that GM hopes will help to turn things around.