Japan's largest used-car company drives into Thai market

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Japan's use-car giant drives into Thai market
Pichaya Changsorn
The Nation

Gulliver International, Japan's largest used-car company, has a grand vision - to do what 7-Eleven did to conquer the Thai grocery market - of modernising the entire used-car business in this country.

In this bid, which represents Gulliver's first renewed overseas expansion ambition since the global "Hamburger" crisis in 2008, the company has dispatched Katsushi Nomura, 33, a former secretary to a co-president of the Japanese parent firm, to head the Thai unit.

"I thought a top manager would have come by himself," he said last week.

He was also surprised to learn about the assignment last year.

However, his work for co-president Takao Hatori was much more than a traditional secretary's job. Besides closely following the work and thoughts of Hatori, whose family founded and still holds some stake in the public-listed company, the young secretary was assigned to implement a new showroom format for Gulliver called "Wow Town".

After its founding in 1994, Gulliver expanded its showrooms to more than 400 locations all over Japan in four years. Named as one of the top-20 best employers in Japan, Gulliver bucks the trend in Japan with a plan to hire 700 workers there next year to serve its programme to nearly double retail outlets there from 430 to 800 by 2017.

Gulliver had attempted to expand to India, Russia, China and the United States, but decided to withdraw from all overseas markets except the US after being hit by the global financial crisis in 2008.

The firm chose Thailand as the first market to renew its overseas expansion partly because it could find a good partner,

V-Group, a unit of Thailand's leading property and casualty insurance company Viriyah Group. They set up a joint venture, V-Gulliver, to penetrate the used-car market.

Gulliver is the only company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange that is run by co-presidents. Both in their early 40s, Yusuke and Takao jointly manage the firm, which has a young pool of workers.

Due to some obstacles such as those involved in building permits, Gulliver took nearly a year to open its first showroom on Srinakarin Road in March.

Despite a slow start, Nomura said he was confident Gulliver would meet its target to expand its showrooms to 100 next year. It plans to have a total of 10 showrooms in Bangkok and other provinces such as Nakhon Sawan, Surat Thani and Chiang Mai this year.

Gulliver aims to "modernise" the used-car market by drawing on its over 20 years of experience in Japan and its cutting-edge tools, especially its advanced pricing system based on real-time auction data, known as PSA.

Observers said Gulliver views the Thai used-car market, currently run by thousands of small "tent dealers", as similar to the Japanese market some 20 years ago.

Puttiphand Thamvichai, assistant managing director of V-Group and a member of the board of V-Gulliver, said the PSA system would ensure "fair" prices for sellers while still allowing profitability for its franchisees.

"Unlike 'tent dealers' who often set a price based on how 'easy' the particular customer who walks into their tents looks like to bargain with, our PSA system ensures transparency and reliability of the pricing calculation because the persons who determine and approve the prices of cars will not see the face and identity of the car seller, but will make their decisions based on market trends and the database," he said.

Besides V-Group, two Japanese firms - EPM and Novil - that are Gulliver's franchisees in Japan were also chosen to be its franchisees here.

It plans to introduce a franchise scheme to general Thai investors next month. Among the targets are existing new car dealers and entrepreneurs who can invest a minimum of Bt25 million.

Gulliver plans to expand to Indonesia next year, he added.


-- The Nation 2014-06-16

[Thai at Heart]

Hope they brought protection with them.

Isn't the 2nd hand market just a big money washing exercise.

[chooka]

Used cars in Thailand are ridiculously over priced. I think this is why you see so many rusted old death traps on the roads because people just can't afford to replace them.

[NongKhaiKid]

Just what's likely to happen if a foreign dealership starts to undercut the local firms ?

[sjjmmi]

Game over !!!! not sure which side will fold first

[jaltsc]

"Japan's largest used-car company, has a grand vision - to do what 7-Eleven did to conquer the Thai grocery market..."

Does this mean they will create the auto equivalent of junk food and slowly kill the population?

[ignis]

Used cars in Thailand are ridiculously over priced. I think this is why you see so many rusted old death traps on the roads because people just can't afford to replace them.

so many rusted old death traps on the roads ?.... Must say not seen many rusted cars/trucks here... on the other hand many new cars/truck you can buy without Airbags or ABS, and even thinner metal than the old cars/truck, so not sure which is the death trap ? of course you can buy new/newer with Airbags that don't work.. another major recall for this.

Lets see an old 70's Volvo or 80's Benz, 1,000's of them on the road or a brand new tiny car with no safety, think I will go with the old one, thanks. seen a few accidents old v near new here, mostly the old one has come out far better.

[BSJ]

That's fantastic news! Now I will be able to buy a late model Toyota Crown at a fair price......maybe!

[Piichai]

Currently, used cars are incredibly overpriced. But even if Gulliver lowers prices, I'm not so sure buying a used car in Thailand is such a good idea because of the conditions of the roads, the way many Thais drive, and the way they maintain their cars.

[KhunAussie52]

Using Google translator- They offer up to 18 months warranty and 20,000 miles

Not sure whether i can post there website here.

[selftaopath]

I'd love to see "free market" re: antique/reliable/ used "iron head" motorcycles i.e. Norton, HD, Triumph, Royal Enfield, BSA.

[chainarong]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Used cars in Thailand are ridiculously over priced. I think this is why you see so many rusted old death traps on the roads because people just can't afford to replace them.

Just compare a 04 Toyota in Oz and One in Thai, eight hundred thousand as against one hundred fifty thousand bht.

[KhunAussie52]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Used cars in Thailand are ridiculously over priced. I think this is why you see so many rusted old death traps on the roads because people just can't afford to replace them.

Just compare a 04 Toyota in Oz and One in Thai, eight hundred thousand as against one hundred fifty thousand bht.

2007 TOYOTA VIOS 1.5 TURBO Limited Edition 350,000 Toyota Vios 1.5J Automatic reduce price 340000 Baht Only!!!

where do you get 800,00 baht from. these cars are advertized on Thai visa

[MaxLee]

"Japan's use-car giant drives into Thai market"

Who's responsible for causing more and more traffic jams in Thailand, if it's not the land of amazing smiles alone,... do you get it??? *hint-hint*

[stickyrice2000]

Japan knows how to do business and get rid of their junks.

[PattayaPhom]

Grey imports...taxes?

[ChrisY1]

Hope they do get going .not onlt are used cars ridiculously priced.......but with the local market, run by crooks, money washers and the like....there's never been any real competition...apart from other Thai car crooks!

Now we mmight see some Japanese car crooks.....Competition is not liked here in Thailand...and especially in such a field as used cars.

So of course...there's always the connected peoples "protectors" available to sort things out ....usually with a 9mm!!

[ignis]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Used cars in Thailand are ridiculously over priced. I think this is why you see so many rusted old death traps on the roads because people just can't afford to replace them.

Just compare a 04 Toyota in Oz and One in Thai, eight hundred thousand as against one hundred fifty thousand bht.

2007 TOYOTA VIOS 1.5 TURBO Limited Edition 350,000 Toyota Vios 1.5J Automatic reduce price 340000 Baht Only!!!

where do you get 800,00 baht from. these cars are advertized on Thai visa

Maybe the wrong way around ??

plenty of 2004 Toyota Vios here around 159 - 185,000 baht even the Top of the range... maybe they cost 800,000 baht in Oz ?

[Chao Lao Beach]

People don't want cars in western countries as the labor cost to maintain them is to high, Somchai can work all day on a new transmission here for 500B.

[Loles]

This is a special nice dream Yamamoto, the waking probably will be painful.

[Mudlover]

Damn. The headline gave me visions of Japanese imports - just what Thailand needs to shake up the used car market.

[NeverSure]

Japan knows how to do business and get rid of their junks.

Damn. The headline gave me visions of Japanese imports - just what Thailand needs to shake up the used car market.

This confused me. The headline vs the text. Would they buy the cars at auction in Thailand to avoid import tax and green book hassles, or would they import them to avoid high Thai car prices? They mentioned only auctions.

Are the high prices due to something like a money laundering bunch? If the Japanese franchisees go to Thai auctions do they think they can outbid the current buyers and lower prices? If not are they going to buy them at auction in Japan and import them and try to make money?

In any event, what happens when the the Thai franchisees go head to head with the existing supply chain?

This will get interesting.

[bdenner]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Used cars in Thailand are ridiculously over priced. I think this is why you see so many rusted old death traps on the roads because people just can't afford to replace them.

Just compare a 04 Toyota in Oz and One in Thai, eight hundred thousand as against one hundred fifty thousand bht.

2007 TOYOTA VIOS 1.5 TURBO Limited Edition 350,000 Toyota Vios 1.5J Automatic reduce price 340000 Baht Only!!!

where do you get 800,00 baht from. these cars are advertized on Thai visa

I paid 140K for a 2004 VIOS E 1.5 Auto at a Bank 'Snatch Back' auction last week. Est. 5000 Baht worth of punch list items to bring it up to scratch. So yep, I figure I paid about 150K (AUD $5000) for my Daughters "Learners" car. Gone are the days of the reasonable $500 'Bomb' anywhere.

[tomyummer]

If they can bring a 'lemon law' type practice to Thailand that would be great. Thai tents are very seedy in this way. Great to organize this segment in Thailand.

[moe666]

I love reading the nonsense here, do you think this company is clueless about business in Thailand and that they have not done there research on the used car business

[Zpete]

Damn. The headline gave me visions of Japanese imports - just what Thailand needs to shake up the used car market.

Jap imports sorted the used car market in NZ for the customers betterment.

[Bkungbank]

Over head for running a second hand car dealer are very hard nowdays due to first car scheme by last govrnment and slow economy, many even closing down on business.

[seajae]

anyone buying a second hand car in Thailand is definitely asking form problems, thais tend to not take care of their cars(service wise) and drive them extremely badly, never check oil/water levels, brakes, overload them to buggery, flog the crap out of the motors, dont change gears when they should, continually accelerate and brake.No way in hell I would buy a second hand car plus the dealers want bullsh*t prices for them, it really is a joke. The only thing thais like to do to their cars is stick oversized wheels/tyres on them, drill holes in their exhausts and turn them into a joke machine.

[BKKdreaming]

What is the import duty now for used cars from Japan ?

and is it like some countries where the used cars have to be less than 8 years old ?

[pisico]

Used cars in Thailand are ridiculously over priced. I think this is why you see so many rusted old death traps on the roads because people just can't afford to replace them.

so many rusted old death traps on the roads ?.... Must say not seen many rusted cars/trucks here... on the other hand many new cars/truck you can buy without Airbags or ABS, and even thinner metal than the old cars/truck, so not sure which is the death trap ? of course you can buy new/newer with Airbags that don't work.. another major recall for this.

Lets see an old 70's Volvo or 80's Benz, 1,000's of them on the road or a brand new tiny car with no safety, think I will go with the old one, thanks. seen a few accidents old v near new here, mostly the old one has come out far better.

Why would you need air bags if you are wearing your amulet?