What Do You Buy When You Can'T Buy A Toyota Or A Honda?

[MoonRiverOasis]

It's really only effected production capacity for around 10 weeks now, but the parts supply problems as a result of the earthquake and following tsunmai in Japan have already had a major impact on Thai buying habits.

Here's how it's effected sales in the kingdom..

A segment:

The launch of the Hond Brio was practically scuttled by the Tsunami, and Nissan took full advantage of the lack of competition and a very favorable supply & demand ratio by raising the price of the March by 5,000 Baht across the board.

B segment:

Total sales volume from March to May dropped almost 50%, but not a lot of brand switching was seen. The Toyota VIOS managed to hold onto it's daylight first place (it sells double the volume of the #2 ranked car in this segment), again showing that many customers in this segment would prefer to wait rather than switch camps. Honda's existing decline in the segment wasn't helped by the parts supply problem, and saw it's 2nd placed Jazz outsold by the Mazda 2 in May.

C segment:

Altis and Civic lost market share, but again not at the expense of customers switching brands - the models largely uneffected by the parts issue (Tiida, Lancer and Mazda3) kept on selling at their usual (low) volumes during the period.

D segment:

Most buyers in this segment simply stopped buying as stocks fell to less than half of normal levels, as all major entries in the segment were effected by the parts supply problem. With everyone's inventory rapidly declining, Teana managed to take over 2nd place in the segment in May with 369 units sold, as Honda struggled to produce just 275 cars. Respective market shares in the segment remain steady however (Toyota 44%, Honda 26%, Nissan 18%, and the Germans picking up the rest).

Pickups:

This is where the big changes have been seen - Isuzu lost minimal production capacity, and took over top spot from Toyota in April and May, bringing them neck-and-neck with Toyota for the year to date. Toyota's sales dropped remarkably due to lack of supply though - from around 16,000 units in March, down to 12,000 in April and less than 5,000 units in May. Not all buyers in this segment are waiting for their cars though - Mitsubishi cashed in on it's existing market share momentum and Toyota's misfortune to take a solid 3rd place in May with over 4,000 units sold, (up from just 1200 units at the same time last year). Chevrolet picked up just a couple of hundred sales in May, while Ford, Mazda and Nissan saw their slow and steady declines continue during the period.

SUV's

Mitsubishi's new-found challenge for top spot in the segment (established back in January 2011) was heavily contested by Toyota in March, with the Fortuner outselling it by 190 units, but sprung back due to Toyota's misfortune in April and May to end up outselling the Fortuner by a factor of over 3:1 last month, for an aggregate market share of 32% YTD. The Honda CR-V was pummelled as well - from 850 units in March down to less than 300 in May. Isuzu's MU-7 continued it's existing slow decline in the segment, and Captiva sales dived in May on the news of the minor change's pending release.

Edited June 19, 2011 by MoonRiverOasis

[funlovinkid]

I'm on the verge of ordering a new Toyota Vios G model, from either a Chiang Mai dealer, or a Bangkok dealer, depending on whether I can get a significantly better deal in BKK (I'm currently in the process of moving from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, and as a result will need a car fairly soon after arriving in CM). From reading other posts here on TV, it seems that the Toyota dealerships in BKK are more competitive than those in CM, apparently because there's a monopoly of sorts in CM. In either case, any thoughts on whether my order would be delayed by the tsunami-related parts shortage? The one dealer I've spoken to so far has poo-pooed the issue, saying that any Vios order would be delivered within a month, but I have my doubts.

[wandrinstar]

What about the Cruze, its not a bad package, I looked but its not a Hatch.Ive never seen one like they sell here.Nice inside,puts Ford to shame.Very quiet ride.Its the Daewoo Stigma would put me off.It should be the same price as a Proton.

[WarpSpeed]

What??? No gains listed by Ford?? Not even on the radar? I'm seeing Fiestas and Focus's with red plates like never before and EVERY auto show I see around, the Ford kiosk is swamped with serious interest and busy sales people ..

[kkerry]

I was curious about Ford as well.

Surely I can't have been the only person to buy a Ford Fiesta because I could have it delivered almost immediately unlike the City, Civic and Vios, and it's a decent car.

The dealer I bought mine from also has the Honda showroom next door and we went there a couple of times and it was empty while every time we've been to Ford there have been people taking a look.

It's hard to believe Ford haven't increased their share of the small car market substantially but maybe even if they have doubled their sales it is still a small player in Thailand compared to Toyota and Honda.

Like warp said, so many red plated Fiestas about.

[culicine]

How many fiestas are sold per month recently compared to other hatchbacks? Ford don't seem to publish their monthly sales, unlike the other makes.

[aussiebebe]

Maybe it's not a change in buying habits as I'm not sure how the taxi business works, but after having only ever seen one Honda Civic taxi on the road, I've recently seen two Chevrolet Cruze taxis in Bangkok. Is it possible that the Toyota disruptions pushed the taxi operator towards Chevy?

[seriouseats]

Def does not represent phuket very well.

More new ford,chevy,mitsu and mazda than anything else around here.

[seriouseats]

Maybe it's not a change in buying habits as I'm not sure how the taxi business works, but after having only ever seen one Honda Civic taxi on the road, I've recently seen two Chevrolet Cruze taxis in Bangkok. Is it possible that the Toyota disruptions pushed the taxi operator towards Chevy?

Id say thais are just getting a little more clever, dumping that old rag and getting into a real strong and safe american car(today is my optimism day, wont happen again)

Edited July 1, 2011 by seriouseats

[toffo9]

I was curious about Ford as well.

Surely I can't have been the only person to buy a Ford Fiesta because I could have it delivered almost immediately unlike the City, Civic and Vios, and it's a decent car.

The dealer I bought mine from also has the Honda showroom next door and we went there a couple of times and it was empty while every time we've been to Ford there have been people taking a look.

It's hard to believe Ford haven't increased their share of the small car market substantially but maybe even if they have doubled their sales it is still a small player in Thailand compared to Toyota and Honda.

Like warp said, so many red plated Fiestas about.

I bought one 3 weeks ago and drove it away after 1 hour..

[Bkkorupcountry]

No no no no. The car you want is a Prius. I drove it for a day (then had to fly to Paris where I am now) but what a great day. 150 km and hardly any gas used

[MoonRiverOasis]

Wow, someone ressurrected this thread from the grave

Seeing as it's now has new life, here's the latest update on everyone's production status:

• Toyota: Full production resumed on May 23rd.
• Honda: Currently at 50% production capacity. Expect to hit 80% capacity this month (July), and resume full production in September.
• Nissan: Expect to hit full production this month (from a low of just 20%)
• Mitsubishi: Has only experienced very minor impact to production capacity, currently running normally.
• Ford, Mazda, Chevrolet: Production unaffected, or no official announcements made

As for "Surely Ford/Chev have cashed in" comments, yes, they have, but they remain at the bottom of the sales charts nontheless. i.e. Ford's sales in May improved by 327% from May last year - but the increase from 589 units to 2,517 units (as a company) still means that tha Toyota VIOS (as a model, and with reduced production) outsells the entire Ford range.

There is a tide of change happening that suggests the "rise of tier 2" continues in Thailand however, and over the next year or two these brands should be able forge a much stronger position in that Thai market.

The latest Year On Year growth figures for brands with at least 1% market share look like this:

• Ford: growth: +272% (current market share: 3.3%)
• Mitsubishi: +112% (7.7%)
• Suzuki: +86% (1%)
• Chevrolet: +79% (3.5%)
• Nissan: +76% (8.5%)
• Mazda: +21% (4.5%)
• Isuzu: +16% (18.6%)
• Toyota: +11% (36.2%)
• Honda: +5% (11.4%)

Average sales growth for the period was +26.4%, so what your're seeing here is the top 5 entries improving their overall market share, and the last 4 losing previously held share.

Note: Figures are total sales - so include passenger cars and pickups.

Edited July 2, 2011 by MoonRiverOasis

[wandrinstar]

What about Proton, there are many Reds about in Central Thai , and not badly priced for the Saloon.ready to run on Gas i see.I sat in one at Big C, the interior was a bit Fordie i noticed.Ive never looked in everyday cars much till i signed here.So on Browsing and not Splitting Hairs, the Mazda 3.and Cruze get my vote .Me, i would never leave Honda. , Boring Boring, when i have buy my own ride next year.

[wandrinstar]

Having looked at MRO Listings, is it fair to include Taxis, and Commercial based sales alongside Suzuki . That puts down Honda sales too cauuse they dont do a Cheapie like the rest for Taxi Volume Sales.O.K Suzuki do that little truck., but not many.????.

[seriouseats]

hit Malaysia for a day, you wont ever sit in a proton again.

[MoonRiverOasis]

What about Proton

Proton are losing market share hand over fist, down 6.4% YOY, in a market that gained 26.4%

Having looked at MRO Listings, is it fair to include Taxis, and Commercial based sales alongside Suzuki .

I did note the list is based on total sales - given the scope of this topic, it would make no sense to only compare passenger car sales.

[GM1955]

My Friend has a Pajero Sport.

I have a Fortuner.

He only bought it because he could get a zero or incredibly low interest rate over 4 or 5 years deal, they can't sell them any other way.

He would like a Fortuner really but Toyota don't have to do the super deals to sell them, they sell anyway.

My gf went 600Kms in a Pajero sport and didn't rate it at all, much preferred the Fortuner

Fact is, Fortuner kicks ass in its class, the others dont get near, OK , maybe the Pajero sport does (I Like It ) , but over all, Toyota Fortuner is the King of the Thai SUV's.

It really has no competition.

[wandrinstar]

Nowt so queer as Folk. There's a German chap i know,bought a Proton as a disposable lighter so he didn't have to leave his AMG,super Benz on Bkk Streets,That's 2 years back,and he raves about the value. Ive not heard anyone complain about them either.I don't care either way, but they are Taxis in Malaysia, like Toyota is here.and Benz are in Europe..I can remember Mazda being a Cartoon Car in England years ago, things change.

[katabeachbum]

Nowt so queer as Folk. There's a German chap i know,bought a Proton as a disposable lighter so he didn't have to leave his AMG,super Benz on Bkk Streets,That's 2 years back,and he raves about the value. Ive not heard anyone complain about them either.I don't care either way, but they are Taxis in Malaysia, like Toyota is here.and Benz are in Europe..I can remember Mazda being a Cartoon Car in England years ago, things change.

proton gained a position in TH market while waiting for ecocars. March and Brio will take all sales below 530k baht, and the 500-700k market is now covered by new designs like Mazda2 and Fiesta.

I do not believe Proton will survive in TH, unless they come up with products better than the others at lower price.

BTW what happend with Huyinday? Sonata NGV was unique as only CNG vehicle in 1-3 mill baht segment, but uniquie it still is as never seen south of Hua Hin

[wandrinstar]

I see the Persona 1500cc @ around 650K is all ready to run on CNG/Petroll,and spares and service are good I'm told,its much bigger than a Fiesta, and has Disks all round, 2Air Bags/ Cruise Control. Hyundai and Daewoo both had crap after sales backup.Now the old Daewoo is G.M.s , the Chevy Bow Tie sells it..Perhaps Proton should re badge their below average product as well. Not that i think there's much hope for Proton.with the New Engines on the way from Europe.The " In Ride" round here are Quad Bikes,they are like a Yaris without a Body.

[seriouseats]

You will cry in pain after 10mins of driving a proton.. just the seats... feels like you're in a cheap go kart maintained by thais

[wandrinstar]

I have only been in Malay Proton Taxis,just like a Toyota Taxi to me.Main difference is the Drivers speak English.