General Motors to stop selling Chevrolet cars in Thailand

[Don Mega]

1 hour ago, transam said:

Me too, my garden is a picture...????

Good for you.

[madmitch]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

The wife has just informed me that the Chevy vehicles are going to be sold off at half price.

 

Can anyone confirm this. 

 

Might have to change my opinion about US vehicles.

My missus just told me the same and she's shown me an ad for a Captiva for 499,000 baht. She's very interested as we were looking for a runaround for the family but servicing etc could be a concern.

[couchpotato]

15 minutes ago, madmitch said:

My missus just told me the same and she's shown me an ad for a Captiva for 499,000 baht. She's very interested as we were looking for a runaround for the family but servicing etc could be a concern.

Ok so you save a lot on the car, but if servicing and spare parts are going to be a problem after this year, plus of course no resale value, then is it really worth it??

[drbeach]

18 hours ago, djayz said:

Maybe the Chinese know that most (all?) companies in Thailand have way too many employees on the payrole. 

I'm pretty sure the staff who are not chucked out will learn what it means to really "work" under the watchful eye of their omnipresent Sino-cousins.

 

Yes but I'm pretty sure it's the same thing in China. They certainly tend to employ more people than is necessary. Now depending on what GW's strategy is, they may end up axing a few positions. Keep in mind that GM being an American company probably didn't employ "too many" people either - if it had been a Thai manufacturer/employer, there would probably have been like 5000 employees rather than just 1500.

[drbeach]

2 hours ago, Don Mega said:

Existing experienced staff will need to be trained to the new processes.

 

By law GM will have to lat them off and pay redundancies... it will be up to GW if they decide to re-employ.... Maybe they will do a deal with the Thai gumbyment and fill the place with Chinese workers.

LOL. Chinese managers will come in (that's to be expected), but we certainly won't be seeing Chinese salesmen or mechanics. We're talking Thailand here, not Cambodia or Laos where that could actually happen.

[drbeach]

17 hours ago, Don Mega said:

They are converted in AUS by HSV, along with the Camaro and Dodge Ram.....

 

Will  HSV convert the Vette... only time will tell but if they do it will make it a $200k+ vehicle and GM will sell very few.

I know. What I meant was - they will be built in LHD format at the factory in America and then converted to RHD in Australia by HSV. I didn't get into the details like you just did, but that's exactly what they have been doing so far and will continue to do once Holden disappears from Australian shores. A Malaysian firm is doing the same in Malaysia - importing LHD full-size pickups and converting them to RHD locally to meet local requirements.

 

By contrast, Thailand has no requirement to convert a LHD to a RHD, but I suspect the only Chevy we're going to be seeing here in the future will be the factory built RHD Corvette, which will compete alongside Ford's Mustang. I understand (according to the Aus media) Corvettes will also be imported into Australia in factory built RHD format. Only the other models (Silverado, Camaro, Dodge Ram etc.) will be converted locally.

Edited February 19, 2020 by drbeach

[Don Mega]

14 minutes ago, drbeach said:

LOL. Chinese managers will come in (that's to be expected), but we certainly won't be seeing Chinese salesmen or mechanics. We're talking Thailand here, not Cambodia or Laos where that could actually happen.

I doubt there would be too many Salesman or Mechanics working at the assembly plant Thai or Chinese.

[drbeach]

4 hours ago, Don Mega said:

 Izuzu and GM split a few years ago, the Colorado is not a D-Max.

 

GM have killed RHD production not LHD, Colorado is built in 2 US plants (Missouri and Louisiana).

GM have decided to stop mass production of RHD vehicles by pulling their manufacturing out of all remaining RHD markets (such as India, South Africa and now Thailand), but according to what I've read, small volumes of factory produced RHD "niche" vehicles will still be produced for markets such as Australia, New Zealand and probably Thailand. I believe this will only apply to the Corvette though - all other models will only be produced in LHD format, with Australia's HSV converting them to RHD locally. Japan allows LHD vehicles so Chevy are currently selling two LHD models there without conversion, but I suspect that once they start producing RHD Corvettes, that model will also be imported into Japan in RHD format.

 

I remember a few years ago before the Ford Mustang was offered in RHD, only select car importers offered them here in Thailand and they were all LHD. Now they are offered through Ford dealerships and are in RHD. Even so, they are somewhat of a "niche" vehicle with relatively low sales volumes. Ford decided to pull out of most car manufacturing worldwide a couple of years ago, leaving just 2 models in North America plus the Mustang, the rest being SUVs and pickup trucks.

 

By the way, GM has also exited many LHD markets since 2013 too - including Vietnam, Russia and most of Europe. Due to strict emissions standards, certain models can't be sold in Europe anymore. So it's not so much about ending RHD production as it is about consolidating their operations to become more streamlined, focusing on only a couple of main markets where they can make the highest returns. These are 1) North America 2) China and 3) South Korea.

[Don Mega]

13 minutes ago, drbeach said:

 

 

By contrast, Thailand has no requirement to convert a LHD to a RHD, but I suspect the only Chevy we're going to be seeing here in the future will be the factory built RHD Corvette, which will compete alongside Ford's Mustang. I understand (according to the Aus media) Corvettes will also be imported into Australia in factory built RHD format. Only the other models (Silverado, Camaro, Dodge Ram etc.) will be converted locally.

Which is a point that GM are not answering.... They claim to have axed all RHD vehicles and Development.... does that include the RHD corvette ?

[drbeach]

2 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

I doubt there would be too many Salesman or Mechanics working at the assembly plant Thai or Chinese.

I also doubt there will be many (or even any) Chinese assembly workers at the manufacturing plant either aside from managers. You have to look at the entire operations here - from manufacturing to sales, marketing and servicing. GW will simply be changing the guard from American managers to Chinese managers, but the majority of the rest of the workforce will continue to be Thai.

[Don Mega]

2 minutes ago, drbeach said:

. So it's not so much about ending RHD production.

But it is the <deleted> excuse they fed to the media.

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, drbeach said:

I also doubt there will be many (or even any) Chinese assembly workers at the manufacturing plant either aside from managers. You have to look at the entire operations here - from manufacturing to sales, marketing and servicing. GW will simply be changing the guard from American managers to Chinese managers, but the majority of the rest of the workforce will continue to be Thai.

Why would an assembly plant have sales, Marketing and service staff ?

[drbeach]

1 minute ago, Don Mega said:

Which is a point that GM are not answering.... They claim to have axed all RHD vehicles and Development.... does that include the RHD corvette ?

I read they will be producing the RHD Corvette in small volumes directly from the plant in Kentucky. I am not aware of them already doing so - I think the plan is to start soon.

 

The point is that they have never exported large volumes of North American made vehicles to countries outside of the region - by exiting RHD markets, they are exiting mass RHD production because the strategy was to sell vehicles built locally (such as Thai manufactured trucks and SUVs that were sold in Thailand, SE Asia and Australia/NZ but not North America). The "niche" market of RHD Corvettes may amount to like a couple of thousand units per year out of a total of many millions manufactured across the board in China, North America and South Korea. Such a small volume, hence why it's called "niche".

[Don Mega]

2 minutes ago, drbeach said:

I read they will be producing the RHD Corvette in small volumes directly from the plant in Kentucky. I am not aware of them already doing so - I think the plan is to start soon.

 

 

Correct, Production has not yet commenced for RHD Vettes.

I read they were only allocating 25 vehicles per year to Aus..... Can't see why they would bother anymore because A: they will damned expensive and B: GM has well and truly torched any goodwill it had with Australian people.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Don Mega

[drbeach]

3 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Why would an assembly plant have sales, Marketing and service staff ?

Gosh do you have comprehension problems? Don't you think that Great Wall will also build showrooms and dealerships as well? They aren't just coming to build cars at an assembly plant. They're also going to be selling and servicing their cars here as well as abroad. For that they need a full range of different employees according to the tasks they are assigned to do. I am quite certain many, probably most of the existing Thai workforce at GM will be re-employed by GW, if they wish to do so (almost certainly if given the opportunity, they will say yes).

Edited February 19, 2020 by drbeach

[Don Mega]

2 minutes ago, drbeach said:

Gosh do you have comprehension problems? Don't you think that Great Wall will also build showrooms and dealerships as well? They aren't just coming to build cars at an assembly plant. They're also going to be selling and servicing their cars here as well as abroad. For that they need a full range of different employees according to the tasks they are assigned to do. I am quite certain many, probably most of the existing Thai workforce at GM will be re-employed by GW, if they wish to do so (almost certainly if given the opportunity, they will say yes).

They may build or they may not build.... I base by replies on fact not speculation.

[drbeach]

14 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

But it is the <deleted> excuse they fed to the media.

I've read about 10 different articles on this story - from media in the USA, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. All of them take different angles on the story but it becomes clear if you do a bit of background research, it's about consolidating their operations to a few select markets. They have decided to get out of mass RHD production, but have previously exited most LHD markets outside of North America, China and South Korea too.

 

The last remaining sizeable RHD markets are Australia, New Zealand and Thailand, of which Thailand is the only one with manufacturing facilities serving all three markets. That's what the story is - very easy to understand.

 

In short - GM is becoming a smaller, more regionally focused company as opposed to a global one like say Toyota or Mitsubishi. And BTW plant closures and openings, streamlining of operations happen all the time. A couple of years ago, Mitsubishi decided to close it's American manufacturing plants, but thanks to low import tariffs they haven't stopped selling their vehicles there, just that they are now all fully imported. I am not sure what the market share of Mitsubishi is in the North American market, but it's possible that if it were to go down to a small enough level, they may decide to exit that market altogether. Personally I doubt it though, because the market there is so big, even if they only make up a relatively small percentage of sales, it can still be profitable for them.

Edited February 19, 2020 by drbeach

[drbeach]

7 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

They may build or they may not build.... I base by replies on fact not speculation.

They WILL build. GW have confirmed they are purchasing the plant. You are speculating now. I'm basing my replies here on what I've read in the news and press releases.

[Don Mega]

6 minutes ago, drbeach said:

They WILL build. GW have confirmed they are purchasing the plant. You are speculating now. I'm basing my replies here on what I've read in the news and press releases.

Yeah no <deleted> they have confirmed they are buying  the assembly and engine plants...

 

Please link the  news and press releases where GW has confirm they will open and operate retail dealerships in Thailand.

[drbeach]

6 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Yeah no <deleted> they have confirmed they are buying  the assembly and engine plants...

 

Please link the  news and press releases where GW has confirm they will open and operate retail dealerships in Thailand.

Gosh. You take everything too literally and have no ability to research or even use your imagination or common sense. Show me one car manufacturer that ONLY agrees to buy a manufacturing plant but not sell their vehicles. I think even if not mentioned directly, it's implied they will open showrooms. And since I've read that GM has a major strategy to use Thailand as their base for expanding into SE Asia and Australia, it's quite clear they will open dealerships too, it's just obvious.

 

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/17/c_138791453.htm

 

This article clearly mentions their strategy.

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, drbeach said:

Gosh. You take everything too literally and have no ability to research or even use your imagination or common sense. Show me one car manufacturer that ONLY agrees to buy a manufacturing plant but not sell their vehicles. I think even if not mentioned directly, it's implied they will open showrooms. And since I've read that GM has a major strategy to use Thailand as their base for expanding into SE Asia and Australia, it's quite clear they will open dealerships too, it's just obvious.

 

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/17/c_138791453.htm

 

This article clearly mentions their strategy.

The article mentions nothing about establishing retail dealerships.

 

Are your eyes painted on ?

[drbeach]

I would also recommend being patient and waiting - over the coming months we'll probably be hearing lots of news, mentioning in detail what Great Wall plans to do. As far as most people are concerned, it's pretty obvious what the outcome will be. GM is leaving, with only a few niche vehicles to be sold here in the future. Servicing and spare parts will be offered for some years, but not sure yet through whom. In South Africa, Isuzu is taking care of that. Perhaps in Thailand's case, it will be the same.

 

As for Great Wall, they want to enter the market and will basically pick up where GM left off. Their strategy is different - they are expanding their operations, while GM is contracting. Pretty easy to fill in the gaps.

[DavisH]

Now, you can buy the new capriva form 499K baht. A 500K discount. Any takers????? Big discounts on their trucks too. 

 

[drbeach]

2 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

The article mentions nothing about establishing retail dealerships.

 

Are your eyes painted on ?

I don't have time to do the research for you. Pretty obvious that Great Wall is going to be using Thailand as a base for it's expansion into SE Asia/Australia/NZ. I don't know what else to tell you. This topic is done now.

[drbeach]

1 minute ago, DavisH said:

Now, you can buy the new capriva form 499K baht. A 500K discount. Any takers????? Big discounts on their trucks too. 

 

Hasn't been mentioned on their website yet though.

[drbeach]

Just one final comment I wanted to make. This story is still very new. I recently started noticing Chevrolet showrooms disappearing with one near my place having closed up shop though that may have been a while ago now. Was also kinda surprised when I went to the Chevy website about how few dealerships they have, in comparison to the competition (like Mazda, Toyota, Isuzu). Clearly Chevy hasn't been doing all that well here in recent years, though not necessarily that terribly either if judging by the still sizeable number of Chevy vehicles on the roads (my neighbor owns one too). Anyway, if you do the research and look at their Wikipedia pages and news releases over the years, GM's strategy has changed greatly under their General Manager, Barra.

 

Great Wall's decision to purchase the GM plant has also just been announced. This follows a 2013 announcement about their plans to use Thailand as a base for their expansion into SE Asia, which was reversed in 2014 because they weren't ready back then. However, it now looks like they are definitely ready to follow a strategy to internationalize their operations. It has been mentioned that GW's takeover of GM's plant will be finalized by the end of this year. I'm sure they'll announce their plans for the Thai market in due course. However, right now it's too early to announce whether they plan to open say 100 or 200 dealerships nationwide and by when. We don't know when actually they agreed to purchase GM's plant. We only know it has just been announced, therefore it's impossible for them to know exactly what they want to do now, when it may take them until the end of the year to finalize the plant takeover plans. Therefore, without knowing more, it's all speculation but reading the press releases already made, and the plans for their operations and using a bit of logic and common sense, it's quite obvious they have big plans for both the Thai market and the rest of the region.

[Don Mega]

44 minutes ago, drbeach said:

I don't have time to do the research for you. Pretty obvious that Great Wall is going to be using Thailand as a base for it's expansion into SE Asia/Australia/NZ. I don't know what else to tell you. This topic is done now.

So you cannot provide a link to back up your claims/speculation.... why does this not surprise me !!

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Don Mega said:

Why would an assembly plant have sales, Marketing and service staff ?

Perhaps the Chinese manufacturer will go past Thai production of their vehicles and establish full marketing and service in Thailand? 

[Andrew Dwyer]

1 hour ago, DavisH said:

Now, you can buy the new capriva form 499K baht. A 500K discount. Any takers????? Big discounts on their trucks too. 

 

 

 

The saving on the Colorado Trailboss seems a bit frugal ( not the 204k as claimed ). ☹️

Edited February 19, 2020 by Andrew Dwyer

[gunderhill]

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

 

 

The saving on the Colorado Trailboss seems a bit frugal ( not the 204k as claimed ). ☹️

All are +7% vat and "other charges" red  plate etc etc