Diesel price cap pushes up total sales of pickups considerably

BANGKOK: -- Total sales of pick-up trucks have increased significantly in the first quarter of this year due mainly to the government’s decision to maintain the capped price of local diesel oil, according to the Automobile Institute.

Wallop Tiasiri, Director of the Institute, disclosed more motorists had turned to buy diesel-engine vehicles such as Vego pick-ups of Toyota and Isuzu Demax in that period as a result of the diesel price cap measure.

He said total sales of sedans had gone to the opposite direction. But there was a doubt that the sales had decreased because customers wait to buy popular sedans some automakers could not produce in a number that meets the high demand.

He projected such trend would continue throughout this year since most motorists believed the government would not allow diesel prices to float.

Mr. Wallop believed the total production of vehicles in Thailand would continue to grow to more than 1 million units per year as targeted. Of this, around 700,000 units are produced for local use and 420,000 units for export.

It is expected the vehicle production would reach a record high of more than 1 million units in November this year.

He said the production in the first quarter totaled 250,393 units, up 14.49% from the same period of last year. Total sales rose by 12.81% from the corresponding period the year before to 166,486 units and exports surged by 24.44% to 86,962 units.

Of the total sales, he noted, 112,803 units are pick-up trucks, up 33.1%, and 42,456 are sedans, down 18.98%.

Local sales of motorcycles increased by less than 1% due to the oil price surge while exports surged by 20%.

--TNA 2005-04-27

It has taken a long time to sink in.

I changed to a diesel vehicle last year.

It's the final sentence that makes no sense to this motorcyclist:

"Local sales of motorcycles increased by less than 1% due to the oil price surge while exports surged by 20%."

Most Thai motorcycles get twice the gas mileage that deisels do. Where's the savings? Even riding the fastest motorcycle produced in Thailand (a CBR150 that outpaces most BMW 318i and many BMW 323), and riding much too fast, I get 30 km to the liter.

Motorcyclists are relatively poor folks and so any price increase is a heavy burden for them.

And car/pickup drivers will never switch to a motorcycle as a matter of principle, not the matter of mileage.