Bangkok Motor Show Sales Roar Ahead

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Motor Show sales roar ahead

Kanittha Panthong

The Nation

Orders pour in as auto-makers offer great promotions

BANGKOK: -- The annual Bangkok International Motor Show, which serves as a curtain-raiser to the second-quarter auto-buying season, is helping to boost auto sales as expected.

Before the show hit the road, organiser Prachin Eamlumnow said that as many as 40,000 orders could be placed at the 12-day event this year.

Although at first auto-makers were not as confident as Prachin, at the opening ceremony last week auto executives thought otherwise and stated they were confident that the target could be achieved.

And orders poured in as auto companies went full steam ahead in using the event as a sales extravaganza. The stars included products made under the Thai eco-car programme and a large number of all-new pickup trucks, which come with irresistible sales promotions including low interest rates, small down payments and low monthly installments.

Barely eight days into the show, the number of orders placed was close to 30,000, which is higher than what the organisers and auto companies expected. In past years, most of the decision making and placing of orders take place during the final two-day weekend, and usually exceeds 10,000 orders. The latest figures hint that more than 40,000 orders could be placed this year.

Toyota takes the lead

Toyota, which was showered with eight prizes including the Car of the Year award - held by show organiser Grand Prix International - amassed 4,889 orders during the first five days and touched the 7,000-level on day eight.

Toyota Motor Thailand senior vice president Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont said Toyota is presenting 50th-anniversary models to celebrate its presence in Thailand during the last half century.

"We introduced the facelifted Vios as well as the Vios TRD Sportivo, which is a limited edition model with 4,100 units to be made and priced at just Bt625,000," he said.

New models at the Toyota stand include the Camry and Prius, while Hilux Vigo Champ pickup trucks are being displayed in dressed-up forms.

Honda to solve back-order crisis?

Many at the motor show are closely watching whether Honda will be able to solve its back-order deadlock of 60,000 vehicles caused during the flood crisis last year.

Although Honda recently reopened its assembly plants in Ayutthaya, full capacity has not been reached and it needs to support sales with fully imported models from Japan.

Honda needed to import certain parts for production and although it had received permission to import models that it is unable to assemble, the back-order problem hasn't eased yet. Honda imported just 6,000 cars - 4,000 Jazz and 2,000 Accords - and this is further limiting the company's marketing ability.

Honda said it hopes to win 7,000 orders at the show but this raises questions on how and when will it be able to deliver the vehicles. The Japanese auto-maker has come out with a very powerful sales campaign for the Brio, offering a low down payment and installments of just Bt3,000 per month, as well as special offers for other models like the CR-V (free insurance) and Freed Limited (free insurance and 0 per cent interest).

After its plant was shut down on October 8 last year due to the massive flood, Honda staged a reopening ceremony on March 31, which was attended by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Honda president and CEO Takanobu Ito, along with its management team and business partners.

Ito did not speak to journalists, it was Pitak Pruttisarikorn, senior vice president of Honda Automobile ( Thailand ), who said: "Honda is confident of solving the back-order problem by delivering 60,000 vehicles within the next two-three months. Restarting our production line once again after just three months of reconstruction is a very short period of time, and this is the result of cooperation from every side."

Pitak said the two Honda factories at the Rojana industrial Park consists of new machinery as well as robots, and are moving towards full production once again. Six Honda models are produced here - the Brio, City, Jazz, Civic, Accord and CR-V.

"It is expected that during the first two weeks [before Songkran], Honda will come back to produce 1,000 units per day, and deliveries will return to normal within the first half of this year," Pitak added.

He said that during the next nine months, Honda is expected to sell 150,000 vehicles in Thailand and export 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles.

"We expect every supplier to return to the system, although presently we need to temporarily solve the problem by importing parts and hiring others to produce certain parts," he said.

Nissan offers trip to Japan

After offering a promotion called "Nissan Easy Pay" consisting of 5.55 per cent down payment (3.99 per cent interest for 55 months) for the March and Almera (84-month installment), Nissan went a step further with another promotion in the hope of boosting sales.

Nissan March buyers from April 1 to July 31 are entitled to a raffle with prizes including a 6-day, 4-night package tour to Japan worth Bt150,000 (two persons). Nissan grabbed more than 2,100 orders just five days into the show, and will surely exceed its 4,000-vehicle sales target.

Mirage and Swift strong as expected

Mitsubishi, which has just introduced the Mirage eco-car, is boosting sales from the start by offering free insurance as well as a Bt10,000 cashback for the first 9,000 buyers.

Mitsubishi Motor Thailand president Nobuyuki Murahashi said the Mirage received stronger consumer response than expected.

"One week after the launch we have more than 4,000 orders and this will be a major force in helping us achieve 30-per-cent growth compared to last year's event," he said.

Eight days into the show Mitsubishi had already received 2,500 orders.

Meanwhile, another eco-car is the Suzuki Swift that has also come with promotions right from the start. These include a 50-per-cent discount on insurance, free 3rd-party insurance and an 84-month interest plan.

Other brands without eco-cars are also enjoying strong sales including Isuzu, Chevrolet, Mazda, Ford, Hyundai and luxury makers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which is expected to win more than 1,000 orders for the first time at the show. Meanwhile, British luxury marque Rolls-Royce received an order on the very first day of the show by an anonymous buyer for a Phantom Drophead Coupe priced at Bt37 million.

A large number of auto-makers are trying to maximise sales during the motor show since they are unsure of the situation during the latter part of the year, so large and small auto companies alike are scrambling for every sales like there's no tomorrow.

According to the Automotive Industry Group, the Federation of Thai Industries, there are more than 300,000 back orders.

As much as two-thirds of that come from Toyota (approximately 100,000) and Isuzu (more than 100,000), followed by Honda (60,000) and others such as Nissan, Mazda, Chevrolet, Ford.

But auto-makers are still moving ahead rapidly in selling more cars and trucks by offering sales promotions, without fearing the large number of undelivered vehicles.

Meanwhile, the auto industry has set a production target of two million units in 2012, which will need to be proven due various factors, natural as well as man-made.

-- The Nation 2012-04-05

[laurentbkk]

oh great ......... more cars on roads and more traffic in the future .....

[sparebox2]

No mention of the pretties?

[FarangKenStine]

People buying cars with out test a test drive. TiT

[MJCM]

People buying cars with out test a test drive. TiT

Friends of mine, who bought a car at this years motor show, test drove the car at a Dealer and they decided to wait till the Motor show before ordering, at the Motor show they got a better deal then what they would get from their Dealer.

Edited April 5, 2012 by MJCM

[Tanaka]

After offering a promotion called "Nissan Easy Pay" consisting of 5.55 per cent down payment (3.99 per cent interest for 55 months) for the March and Almera (84-month installment),

How to understand this, they do not mean 3.99% per month fo r 84 months, do they?

[MJCM]

After offering a promotion called "Nissan Easy Pay" consisting of 5.55 per cent down payment (3.99 per cent interest for 55 months) for the March and Almera (84-month installment),

How to understand this, they do not mean 3.99% per month fo r 84 months, do they?

I doubt that, I think they mean 3.99 % per year.

If it's 3.99% per month for 84 Months, that would mean 3.99 * 84 = 335.16 % Interest (That's a bit over the top even for Thailand