Industry

Bangkok, Thailand – September 1, 2008 – Mazda Sales Thailand launched great customer appreciation “M Day” campaign to ignite the passive automobile market over the recent months. The once-a-year campaign, available at 94 Mazda showrooms nationwide, offers more than baht 100,000 worth of customer special offer. For BT-50 offers one Bt 50,000 fuel coupon, a free 1-year full coverage insurance and 24-hour roadside assistance service for up to 3 years.

Automotive giant, GM, is set to invest up to $445 million in Thailand to update it's current plant, to produce the next generation Colorado pick-up truck, and a brand new facility to manufacture a new range of diesel engines locally.

The engines will be for use in the new Colorado, and will also be exported. The plant is due to begin production in 2010, and with 340 workers is said will have an annual manufacturing capacity of over 100,000 units a year.

Mazda Sales Thailand Co. Ltd has reported satisfactory sales during the first half of 2008. Despite the market conditions, the high diesel price and the political uncertainty, Mazda seem to be holding their own in a difficult market where pickup truck sales in particular are suffering.

In Thailand, Mitsubishi showrooms are not the most interesting places to visit these days. The Thai Lancer is so long in the tooth that even the billionth facelift, and dealer price promotion efforts fail to make it attractive against rivals.

According to a recent posting on antara.co.id, Indonesia might have reason to worry about the impending flood of "eco-car" models coming out of Thailand.

Bambang Trisulo, Chairman of Indonesia`s Motor Vehicle Industries Association, believes that given the high production volumes required by the program, many of the cars will be exported and this could seriously threaten the Indonesian industry.

Subaru are set to launch 3 new models in Thailand. The first being the all-new Exiga. This is billed as a 7-seater MPV and is expected to cost around THB 2 million for the base model when it arrives in Subaru showrooms.

Subaru will also be launching the sedan (4-door) version of the Impreza, although the appeal of the 5 door version is starting to catch on as the hatchback model gains fans. Subaru's decision to turn the Impreza into a hatchback was met with an initial wave of criticism, which seems to have mostly died out after people got a chance to get behind the wheel.

The 2nd generation Honda Jazz has been selling very well in Thailand since its launch earlier this year. Perhaps too well, and although the Honda Thailand website still shows the same pricing on the Jazz since the launch, dealer price lists tell a different story. The price of the Jazz has crept up by THB 10,000 across the board.

Malaysian car marker Proton has raised sales targets from 2,000 units to 5,000 units for 2008. The previous estimate seems to have been overly conservative based on first-quarter sales of 1,500 units.

Increasing fuel prices are helping Proton, as customers are turning to smaller cars like the Savvy. And it is the Savvy that is Proton's most popular model in Thailand, accounting for approximately half of all sales for the company. The Gen-2 is next with around 30% of sales, and finally the Neo with around 20% of the total.

The 2008 Bangkok International Motor Show was a big success, and with sales of over 18,000 units, things are looking good for the industry in 2008.

Some of the sales figures are very interesting, and while Toyota, Honda and Isuzu continue to top the charts as usual, there are some interesting surprises.

Either there is an error in the article below, or Eco-Cars are going to be expensive. Taken from the Bangkok Post, the article below is mostly stuff you will have already heard about the Eco-Car project.

But it seems that this article does answer a question that many are interested to know: What will Eco-Cars cost? Or perhaps the best way to put it is: How cheap will Eco-Cars be?

As you scan down through the article you eventually meet this statement:

Thailand's small eco-cars will be selling in the range of $16,000 and up.

The 2008 Bangkok International Motor Show is over. If you didn't catch it, or if you are interested in finding out what was new at the show, or if you just want to see some photos from the show here are a few useful links to help you navigate to what you want on bkkautos.com.

Articles related to this years Motor Show can be found listed here.

Galleries from the show can be linked to from the relevant articles, or you can find them here.

I'm still adding content, both images and articles, so this is the best way to keep a check on the latest articles. Actually the best way is to subscribe to our RSS feed, but failing that, try these links.

Correction : The Naza Forza with airbags and alloy wheels actually carries a THB 30,000 premium over the standard model. This means that at THB 379,000 it is approaching Proton Savvy money. Also, these prices are introductory, and although Naza has extended the duration of the reduction period. Sorry for the error in the original posting.

Tata Motors used the Bangkok International Motor Show to unveil the Tata Xenon, and showcase several other models with the hope of making an impression. The show ended today, and if you didn't get to visit it and are curious to hear some comments on the Tata offerings, I'll do my best to give you an idea of the impact the Xenon made on me.

Ford have a surprise in store for visitors to the Bangkok International Motor Show, kicking off on 28 March at Bitec. Ford's website has a little button suggesting that there is going to be a surprise at the motor show, and offers free tickets.

Following the link brings you to a page which seems to give away everything. Surprised?

According to reports coming out of Singapore, Yasuyuki Kawamoto, the chief engineer of the Thai assembled Corolla Altis, has said that Toyota would be assembling the Camry Hybrid in Thailand.