Chevrolet Cars In Thailand, Why So Many Now ? Suddenly I See Chevrolet Cars Everywhere !

[Fgis]

Hi,

Am i dreaming or do I suddenly (almost!) see Chevrolet cars everywhere in Thailand ?

What attract people to by these cars ? Special financing ? Price ?

True, some Chevrolet cars are not as ugly as most Japanese cars, but I guess that parts are more expensive and it will always be cheaper for Thai to have a Toyota, am I wrong ?

Thanks for your ideas.

[thaicbr]

Hi,

Am i dreaming or do I suddenly (almost!) see Chevrolet cars everywhere in Thailand ?

What attract people to by these cars ? Special financing ? Price ?

True, some Chevrolet cars are not as ugly as most Japanese cars, but I guess that parts are more expensive and it will always be cheaper for Thai to have a Toyota, am I wrong ?

Thanks for your ideas.

Your wrong

sent from my ..................#

[geriatrickid]

I dunno. Maube;

- GM found a new market full of suckers?

- Thais don't read Consumer reports, JD Power, or watch Top Gear?

- Thais have not had the misfortune of previously owning GM crap before?

- GM 's senior executives in Thailand are all "farang". Only the IT lady, government affairs and HR people are Thai. Maybe, GM knows what it is doing?

[jbrain]

Maybe Thaicruze's thread has been translated into Thai and published nationwide ?

[arthurwait]

Maybe Thaicruze's thread has been translated into Thai and published nationwide ?

No it's just him driving around everywhere that the OP has seen.

[thequietman]

in my town theres a huge push from Chev.

zero percent finance, payment over 6 years. small deposit.

for someone with only little funds, its an attractive offer.

I know they are not very good but as one poster said, maybe thais don,t read up on them.

there are a lot more Mazda's on the road also.

[arthurwait]

Heineken is a premium beer here.

Ok really it's what the quietman says.

If Honda or Toyota were the same price and finance payments very few or even less than now would buy Chevrolet.

Probably very small if no waiting list as well.

[pieeyed]

I just purchaxed my 2nd Chevy Captiva 2 weeks ago from a dealer on Suk 64/1. I had to wait 3 days to get the vehicle that I wanted as they had a large stock of cars, 1/2 ton trucks, trailblazers and captiva's. Since the floods people have had to wait long periods to recieve certains types of vehicles. I think a lot of people like to be able to go in, pick a ehicle and pick it up in less than a week.

[ThaiPauly]

We have had a Captiva for 3 years and are very happy with it.

Could have brought a 'tuna or a CRV, but we preffered the Chevvy

Will definatley buy a Chevvy again when time for change is due

[black fox]

i bought a ford fiesta sports in december, very pleased with it apart from fuel consumption so had it converted to lpg so it now costs 400bt to fill up instead of 1100bt now its all good but not sure about resale value when / if i change it.

[Rooo]

Moving to motoring.

[black fox]

forgot to say hardly anyone at fords pattaya speaks english, considering mostly farangs buy fords i think they should get a few english speakers on their staff.

[John 1]

forgot to say hardly anyone at fords pattaya speaks english, considering mostly farangs buy fords i think they should get a few english speakers on their staff.

It's not just Ford there are not many english speakers at any dealer and if they do they are like a parrot spooking crap. When I bought my Fortuner I asked what size spare he said same as the other 4 what a load of bullshit it's different size and steel rim. For me if I was buying a new vehicle to-morrow I would buy what I liked as service and quality is nearly same this day and age as for re sale if you can afford a vehicle what the hell is every one worrying about when they sell.

[Jitar]

The new Chevs I see are Cruze and Captivas. Chev have a bit of luck at the moment because the Cruze looks less boring than the current models form Honda and Toyota and the Captiva has very little competition, (CR-V smaller and no diesel, PPVs more truck like).

These models are more Korean than American so some of the Chevy generalisations may not be relevant.

[IMHO]

There's a few factors at play with GM's increasing TH market share..

1) Availability. GM doesn't have the same supply problems as other makes (but also has lower demand).

2) The Craptiva has been successfully positioned as the crossover/soft-roader of choice - it's image helped along by several celeb owners.

3) The Colorado has the quickest availability of all trucks, and due to the interwebs, practically everyone now knows it's just an Isuzu with more HP - so doesn't have the same push-back it used to have.

4) Expanding dealer network - Thai's only buy from brands that have decent dealer networks.

5) Attractive offers - Chev has always been the easiest to squeeze a better deal out of.

All that said, they're still competing with Ford for last place in domestically produced cars, but times (and GM's fortunes in TH) are changing..

[anon210]

This being said, IMHO, what about the famed issues about reliability of GM? Is that fast becoming a legend, or has their reliability also improved spectacularly? Are the Thai-made GM's different from those made in the US? Or is it just the technology and poor manufacturing

Are there any stats on the compared long-term reliability? I believe Thaicruze would be happy to see some elements confirming his approach to his own dream car (although I saw him being in awe before the PJS... - completely unexpected turn of circumstances, would you not say so?).

[johnbkk2007]

I also drive a Captiva and am very pleased with it.

Before the Captiva I had the PJS but I like the Captiva more.

[WarpSpeed]

Both Ford and Chevy are coming on strong here. My neighbor across the street from us diagonally just bought a new Sonic, my next door neighbor on one side owns an Escape and the other side did too until he traded it in and got a new Focus diesel last year, the neighbor directly across from us owns us a new Fiesta as well if not for my other neighbor next door to us owning 3 Toyota's including a new Prius the neighborhood immediately around me would be exclusively American cars.

[kennedy]

There's a few factors at play with GM's increasing TH market share..

1) Availability. GM doesn't have the same supply problems as other makes (but also has lower demand).

2) The Craptiva has been successfully positioned as the crossover/soft-roader of choice - it's image helped along by several celeb owners.

3) The Colorado has the quickest availability of all trucks, and due to the interwebs, practically everyone now knows it's just an Isuzu with more HP - so doesn't have the same push-back it used to have.

4) Expanding dealer network - Thai's only buy from brands that have decent dealer networks.

5) Attractive offers - Chev has always been the easiest to squeeze a better deal out of.

All that said, they're still competing with Ford for last place in domestically produced cars, but times (and GM's fortunes in TH) are changing..

Horsepower means nothing to me in a truck, I look at the torque rating.I'll probably buy a Chevy for that reason. I'm not buying a hot rod.... more hp= more fuel consumption= Ford/Mazda

[WarpSpeed]

I just purchaxed my 2nd Chevy Captiva 2 weeks ago from a dealer on Suk 64/1. I had to wait 3 days to get the vehicle that I wanted as they had a large stock of cars, 1/2 ton trucks, trailblazers and captiva's. Since the floods people have had to wait long periods to recieve certains types of vehicles. I think a lot of people like to be able to go in, pick a ehicle and pick it up in less than a week.

I know I do, all the new anticipation is worn off if I have to wait much longer I wouldn't consider anything I had to wait for much longer..

[thaicruze]

I said this was happening a year ago and everyone here made fun of me and told me I was buying a car nobody would have and was going to sell for nothing.

Chevrolet is putting out the best cars if you compare it to Toyota and Honda. Cruze, Sonic, Captiva, those are better than anything Toyota and Honda have out right now. They have diesel options (except the Sonic) and they're not overpriced like Honda.

I think Chevy and Ford are putting out the best cars now.

[WarpSpeed]

I said this was happening a year ago and everyone here made fun of me and told me I was buying a car nobody would have and was going to sell for nothing.

Chevrolet is putting out the best cars if you compare it to Toyota and Honda. Cruze, Sonic, Captiva, those are better than anything Toyota and Honda have out right now. They have diesel options (except the Sonic) and they're not overpriced like Honda.

I think Chevy and Ford are putting out the best cars now.

Don't generalize.... not EVERYONE...........................

[thaicbr]

i like the Sonic. And certainly value for money it seems a good choice. Also i have an aversion to tan trim interiors which seem the norm an Jap cars in Thailand (City etc)

I also like blue cars same thing seems to apply.. my only reservation with the Sonic is the engine as in slightly less power than the 1500cc competition.

[transam]

Could be just very favourable finance terms by the yank brands, as the majority of natives buy on credit.

[keemapoot]

Just like to say a big welcome to IMHO. Nice to see we have an informed industry person back on the board.

[arthurwait]

I said this was happening a year ago and everyone here made fun of me and told me I was buying a car nobody would have and was going to sell for nothing.

Chevrolet is putting out the best cars if you compare it to Toyota and Honda. Cruze, Sonic, Captiva, those are better than anything Toyota and Honda have out right now. They have diesel options (except the Sonic) and they're not overpriced like Honda.

I think Chevy and Ford are putting out the best cars now.

It's very few people in the whole scheme of things buying them and IMO they are buying them for the previously said reasons, chepaer to finance and short waiting list.

The reasons for peoples choice of new car are quite often different for their choice of secondhand car. They maybe more fun new, but a few years down the line reliabilty could well come into play. From experience of Fords it's really going to come into play. Way too many journeys ended at the side of the road and way too many weekends were spent fixing the dam_n car for me to ever really consider buying ford again. Fun to drive for a sedan yes, but the parts quality and electrics are just rubbish.

Will people buy a 3 or 5 or 7 year old Ford or Chevy instead of a Honda or Toyota or any Japenese car. Only time will tell, but I suspect not unless it is very cheap.

[WebBangkok]

They have made butt ass ugly cars in the past. The new captiva is

sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

much better than the last model.

The last model reminded me of a woman with a wide load ass for some reason, the shape of the back was terrible.

The new pick ups also look much better this time around.

So in looks, they have improved.

[Jitar]

I said this was happening a year ago and everyone here made fun of me and told me I was buying a car nobody would have and was going to sell for nothing.

Chevrolet is putting out the best cars if you compare it to Toyota and Honda. Cruze, Sonic, Captiva, those are better than anything Toyota and Honda have out right now. They have diesel options (except the Sonic) and they're not overpriced like Honda.

I think Chevy and Ford are putting out the best cars now.

It's very few people in the whole scheme of things buying them and IMO they are buying them for the previously said reasons, chepaer to finance and short waiting list.

The reasons for peoples choice of new car are quite often different for their choice of secondhand car. They maybe more fun new, but a few years down the line reliabilty could well come into play. From experience of Fords it's really going to come into play. Way too many journeys ended at the side of the road and way too many weekends were spent fixing the dam_n car for me to ever really consider buying ford again. Fun to drive for a sedan yes, but the parts quality and electrics are just rubbish.

Will people buy a 3 or 5 or 7 year old Ford or Chevy instead of a Honda or Toyota or any Japenese car. Only time will tell, but I suspect not unless it is very cheap.

Yep, I think people will be buying used Fords and Chevs for a while yet. Some models are good value as used cars in Thailand because so many people are so loyal to Toyota, Honda or Isuzu. Others like the Focus Diesel or the Captive hold their value pretty well.

Arthur, Sounds like you have had a bad experience with a Ford. The Fords I have had over the years and have not had any reliability problems, maybe I have been lucky. The 3 year old Ranger pick up we have has not missed a beat. The previous ones went to 300,000kms no problem.

I don't reckon it's realistic to generalize about reliability of a brand, the models and component vary too much. I did find this http://www.carthrottle.com/10-surprisingly-unreliable-cars/ interesting though. No Fords in the list?

They have made butt ass ugly cars in the past. The new captiva is

sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

much better than the last model.

The last model reminded me of a woman with a wide load ass for some reason, the shape of the back was terrible.

The new pick ups also look much better this time around.

So in looks, they have improved.

Yes the looks of the Colorado have improved but I thought the changes between the current and last Captiva were mostly grille, tail lights and interior?

[arthurwait]

Jitar are you from America or the UK or somewhere else ? Just wondering if it's poorly made British Fords, the experience of poor reliabilty especially the electrics is a common thing in the UK.

[WarpSpeed]

I said this was happening a year ago and everyone here made fun of me and told me I was buying a car nobody would have and was going to sell for nothing.

Chevrolet is putting out the best cars if you compare it to Toyota and Honda. Cruze, Sonic, Captiva, those are better than anything Toyota and Honda have out right now. They have diesel options (except the Sonic) and they're not overpriced like Honda.

I think Chevy and Ford are putting out the best cars now.

It's very few people in the whole scheme of things buying them and IMO they are buying them for the previously said reasons, chepaer to finance and short waiting list.

The reasons for peoples choice of new car are quite often different for their choice of secondhand car. They maybe more fun new, but a few years down the line reliabilty could well come into play. From experience of Fords it's really going to come into play. Way too many journeys ended at the side of the road and way too many weekends were spent fixing the dam_n car for me to ever really consider buying ford again. Fun to drive for a sedan yes, but the parts quality and electrics are just rubbish.

Will people buy a 3 or 5 or 7 year old Ford or Chevy instead of a Honda or Toyota or any Japenese car. Only time will tell, but I suspect not unless it is very cheap.

You know in the grand scheme of things the door is open and people are walking through it, that's a game changer that will stick and grow if the product lives up to it's hype, so now it's up to the Ford/Chevy dealerships and the manufacturers to take full advantage..