Automakers look to change gear in third quarter

[Lite Beer]

Automakers look to change gear in third quarter
Kingsley Wijayasinha
The Sunday Nation

BANGKOK: -- With the market plunging by 16 per cent during the first half of the year, auto companies are capitalising on every sales opportunity that arises.

Take motor shows for instance. While the two major events - the Bangkok International Motor Show in March and the Thailand International Motor Expo in December - are associated with the auto-buying season in Thailand, today things are changing.

Jaruay Khanmanee, organiser of the Bangkok International Grand Motor Sale 2015, said the buying season for automobiles in Thailand had changed.

"In the past, the third quarter of the year was considered the low season since consumers

usually waited for the rainy sea-son to be over," he said. "But we see an opportunity here for auto

companies to stimulate the market and maintain the sales momentum."

Auto sales are expected to finish the year at 750,000-800,000 units, according to automakers.

The BIG Motor Sale 2015 is on at Bitec Bangna until August 9, and is the fourth major auto show in Bangkok this year. The others were the Bangkok Motor Show, the Bangkok Auto Salon and the FAST Auto Show.

According to Jaruay, his show will help auto companies secure orders for new and updated models, particularly those from the pickup passenger vehicle segment.

The organiser did not provide

an estimated booking figure for the event.

A number of auto companies have joined the event.

Yesterday morning, Mitsubishi pulled the wraps off its new Pajero Sport in a global premiere. The Pajero Sport is produced at Mitsubishi's Laem Chabang plant and will be exported to 90 countries, including Australia, Asean nations, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Russia

In Thailand, it is priced from Bt1.138 million to Bt1.399 million.

Among the new products, Tata Motors unveiled a multi-purpose pickup truck along with the "new MG6" premium sports car. Honda is offering the limited edition of HRV E Limited.

Nissan is showcasing seven models with special financial deals, while Honda is offering a zero-interest instalment for the Accord Hybrid and other vehicles.

To lure civil servants and state enterprise employees, the Ford Group is giving a Bt20,000 discount for the purchase of all its models.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Automakers-look-to-change-gear-in-third-quarter-30265692.html

-- The Nation 2015-08-02

[NongKhaiKid]

More ' easy payments ' loans so more debt for people who can't handle it.

[worgeordie]

Moving into reverse gear.

regards Worgeordie

[ldiablo]

What a joke in calling the MG6 a premium sports car.

[mango66]

I change the gear every minute and not 2 times a year;

This is thai speed !!

[mango66]

Mitsubishi export to Afrika and russia;

In Europe this lorry dont get a permit,

of safety and exhaust reason !

Old - petrol consuming engines !

On the street safety - its a lorry vehicle with a passenger cabine added !!

I had a similar suspension system on my car before 40 years !!

[ramrod711]

"But we see an opportunity here for auto

companies to stimulate the market and maintain the sales momentum."

I think that happened a couple of years ago, it was called "the first car scheme". It was , by all accounts, a complete disaster, from which the market has not fully recovered.

[phoenixdoglover]

Sales are down 16% in the first half of 2015.

The BIG Motor Sale 2015 at Bitec Bangna until August 9 will turn this around.

[blazes]

The picture at the top of the article is a perfect reflection of the state of the traffic on the roads of LoS.

No one can move anywhere. Gridlock. Everyone coveting yet another useless bit of steel to carry one in splendid isolation from one sinking suburb to another.

And yet the lemmings will somehow find, by hook or by crook, the depo$it that will allow them to step into this machine that will, for a few short moments between forecourt and highway, give them the illusion of a purring freedom.

Good luck with the payments in a downturning economy, too.

[BSJ]

"Automakers look to change gear in third quarter" First gear would seem appropriate!

[elgordo38]

More ' easy payments ' loans so more debt for people who can't handle it.

Yes while us savers get nada zilch. We get hardly any interest from banks and with our deposits they are underwriting people who should not be borrowing money period. Its an arse backward world we live in. My government has told me for the last 50 years to save for my retirement well I kept the faith and am I now?. Stabbed in the back is where I am. My choice is the risky stock market or the measly 1.45% (and dropping) that my bank is offering me. What a joke. Sometimes I get the feeling I am living on an alternate planet.

[phoenixdoglover]

More ' easy payments ' loans so more debt for people who can't handle it.

Yes while us savers get nada zilch. We get hardly any interest from banks and with our deposits they are underwriting people who should not be borrowing money period. Its an arse backward world we live in. My government has told me for the last 50 years to save for my retirement well I kept the faith and am I now?. Stabbed in the back is where I am. My choice is the risky stock market or the measly 1.45% (and dropping) that my bank is offering me. What a joke. Sometimes I get the feeling I am living on an alternate planet.

How do you feel about ATM withdrawal fees?

Sorry, are you on blood pressure meds?

[nahkit]

""But we see an opportunity here for auto companies to stimulate the market and maintain the sales momentum."

I've been looking to buy a new vehicle recently. So far, I've been to a Nissan showroom where they proudly described all the clever little bells and whistles the vehicle had but couldn't show any of them because the battery was flat, a Toyota showroom where they refused to turn the ignition on in order for me to check out all the bits and pieces, a Honda showroom where they had 4 CRVs parked around the back but wouldn't let me look at one (there were none in the showroom) and an MG showroom where they were happy to show me everything, took me for a test-drive and then told me they couldn't sell me the vehicle as they "didn't know what their sales campaign was yet".

I'd say if they want to stimulate sales they should start with getting some people into the showrooms who actually want to sell cars.

[djayz]

"But we see an opportunity here for auto

companies to stimulate the market and maintain the sales momentum."

I think that happened a couple of years ago, it was called "the first car scheme". It was , by all accounts, a complete disaster, from which the market has not fully recovered.

I'm not trying to pick an argument with you, but why was/do you think the first car scheme was a disaster?

I know a few Thais who, thanks to this scheme, could finally buy a vehicle or get rid of their old, petrol guzzling bangers and purchase newer, more reliable cars/pickups.

I think this is the first time I've heard anybody referring to it as a disaster.

Edited August 2, 2015 by djayz

[GAS]

It was a disaster because it pulled forward demand, put lots of people in cars they could not actually afford, made traffic way worse than it already is and generally distorted the market.

"But we see an opportunity here for auto

companies to stimulate the market and maintain the sales momentum."

I think that happened a couple of years ago, it was called "the first car scheme". It was , by all accounts, a complete disaster, from which the market has not fully recovered.

I'm not trying to pick an argument with you, but why was/do you think the first car scheme was a disaster?
I know a few Thais who, thanks to this scheme, could finally buy a vehicle or get rid of their old, petrol guzzling bangers and purchase newer, more reliable cars/pickups.
I think this is the first time I've heard anybody referring to it as a disaster.

[Thai at Heart]

It was a disaster because it pulled forward demand, put lots of people in cars they could not actually afford, made traffic way worse than it already is and generally distorted the market.

"But we see an opportunity here for auto

companies to stimulate the market and maintain the sales momentum."

I think that happened a couple of years ago, it was called "the first car scheme". It was , by all accounts, a complete disaster, from which the market has not fully recovered.

I'm not trying to pick an argument with you, but why was/do you think the first car scheme was a disaster?

I know a few Thais who, thanks to this scheme, could finally buy a vehicle or get rid of their old, petrol guzzling bangers and purchase newer, more reliable cars/pickups.

I think this is the first time I've heard anybody referring to it as a disaster.

Pulling demand forward isn't a catastrophe particularly when supply was hammered due to the floods. It was a "sorry" to the manufacturers as much as an opportunity for the buyers.