Mazda Sales (Thailand) Co. Ltd. launches its Mazda2 in Thailand this week and says exports of the 5-door hatchback will begin next month to Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries and Australia.
Mazda Thailand says it is encouraged after a meeting of ASEAN dealers as sales staff received their first look at the new model being built at the AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co. Ltd. plant.
Marketing Director Sureetip La-Ongthong says Mazda took 1,100 pre-release orders for the Mazda2, and the model is one of the most highly anticipated cars in recent years.
He says dealers are telling him the hatchback is the car that truly matches Thai consumers’ needs and will best the competition in the segment in terms of quality, refinement, design and performance.
“We think Mazda2 will get a good response from customers, and I believe this is a big change for Mazda dealers in getting the most number of sales in history,” Mazda Dealer Assn. President Weerasak Laohawee is quoted as saying.
The Mazda2 is to be shipped to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia to cash in on lower tariffs under the ASEAN pact and free-trade agreement between Thailand and Australia.
Mazda Motor Corp. recently formed Mazda Indonesia to handle sales in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The Bangkok Post reports Mazda accounts for 2% of total vehicle sales in the ASEAN region and is looking to the Mazda2 to eventually raise this to 5%.
“Mazda has never done aggressive marketing in (the) ASEAN market, as very few (of its) models are distributed there,” an unnamed industry source tells the newspaper. “It hopes Mazda2 will be its flagship model to penetrate the regional market.”
The Mazda2 with a 1.5L gasoline engine and capable of running on E20 fuel is priced in Thailand at 535,000-690,000 baht ($16,119 to $20,789).
