BANGKOK – General Motors dropped a bombshell here when it announced last month it was phasing out most of the car models it assembles in Thailand, including its B-segment Sonic. That followed a decision to quit building cars altogether in Indonesia.
The latest announcement raised many questions about how far GM was going to roll back in Thailand. But questions about its strategy going forward were obscured in the bigger negative picture.
GM’s new strategy came into better view this week. Chevrolet launched its first product geared to its new primary objective of focusing on the pickup/SUV end of the market with the Colorado High Country, a niche model that will fill a longstanding gap in its Thai truck portfolio.
With the pickup/SUV segment accounting for almost half of all sales here, there are wide differences in the type of use and type of customer. Chevrolet already has a premium pickup model in the LTZ, so the High Country slots above it in the luxury/premium segment.
“Most of our major competitors have a vehicle in that segment, so we will fill that void in our portfolio,” says Marcos A. Purty, managing director-GM Thailand and Chevrolet Sales Thailand. He is confident the High Country can make an impact, especially as Chevrolet has its strongest dealership penetration in areas where demand likely will be highest.
Thailand is the launch market for the High Country. “It’s a brand-new specification, it’s new to the portfolio,” Purty says. “We will export it to Australia as well, but it’s a new version meant for our market and the Australia market.”
He’s noncommittal on whether it will penetrate further into Southeast Asia, but it will be launched in other global regions, including Brazil. “We will remain the export hub of ASEAN, so if other markets see fit, then obviously we will look at sharing with them,” Purty says.
Brazil also was the center for the design, which was done in conjunction with the Thai operation. “It was developed for Thailand,” Purty says. “Our marketing and our planning groups are based in Thailand. All of the feedback from what the local customers are requesting goes back to the home room, which is in Brazil. That’s where a lot of the development takes place, but the clinics and the feedback were local.”
The High Country gets new external trims and revisions to punch up its visuals, including a new front bumper, distinctive 18-in. alloy wheels, roof bars, chrome trim and an integrated and color-coded rollbar. Inside are new leather trim options, piano-black treatment to the dashboard and a more sophisticated infotainment system. Other new additions include a rear-mounted camera.
Pricing comes in at TB969,000 ($29,600) for the 2-wheel-drive version and TB1.03 million ($31,500) for the all-wheel-drive, which puts it up against the Ford Ranger in Wildtrak specification. It comes only with the 2.8L Duramax engine.
With smaller cars being dropped and Chevrolet also pulling out of Thailand’s Eco-Car Phase 2 initiative to boost sales of low-emissions vehicles, the GM brand is focusing on the pickups and C-segment models that comprise a little more than half the market.
“We can try to be great at everything, and we will end up good, or we can try to be super great at this and focus ourselves in a specific area,” Purty says. “That’s our strategy going forward. We will have a lot of strategic investment focused on pickup and SUV.”
Aside from the sharpened emphasis on pickups, GM Thailand will continue to build the Cruze at its Rayong plant. Purty reckons the automaker has addressed earlier problems with the sedan, noting, “We have a great following for the Cruze, the customer feedback has been very positive (and it) creates a nice niche in our portfolio.”
While the Sonic and Spin are being dropped, the line at Rayong will remain open to build the Cruze as well as the Captiva, which also goes down the same line. “Captiva will continue to be produced as part of our SUV strategy,” the executive confirms.
Although Purty won’t say it, the Rayong plant clearly is going to have to fight to boost exports to utilize capacity and retain its importance to GM’s worldwide operations.
“We’re going to jump in and try to make sure we remain a hub for export markets,” he says. “Our exports markets haven’t changed – it’s still Middle East, it’s still Africa, it’s still the Philippines. Anything we add obviously helps with our exports (and) we now have a new export market which takes the Trailblazer – India.”
Indeed, GM Thailand has announced it will start shipping the fullsize SUV to India. Volumes and specifications will be determined by the local operation.
