Thailand Motor Expo Shatters Vehicle-Orders Record
Three-quarters of all orders were made to take advantage of excise-tax rebates of up to TB100,000 ($3,255) offered by the government’s soon-to-expire first-time car-buyer program.
Dealers at the 29th annual Thailand International Motor Expo face white-hot demand as huge crowds order a record 85,904 vehicles, well ahead of the target of 50,000 units for the 12-day event in Bangkok.
Inter Media Consultants Chairman and show organizer Kwanchai Paphatphong says that with the deadline looming for the government’s first-car-buyer tax discount, attendance soared to 1,650,124, up 25.6% from last year’s event.
Kwanchai says three-quarters of all orders were made to take advantage of the excise-tax rebate of up to TB100,000 ($3,255) under the first-car-buyer program.
In the rush, long-time market leader Toyota stumbled, with Kwanchai reporting Honda had the show’s most bookings with 19,299 units. Toyota followed with 18,878, ahead of Nissan (8,819), Isuzu (6,448) and Mazda (6,155).
The Nation newspaper reports the most popular models were the Honda City, Suzuki Swift and Nissan Almera. Passenger vehicles made up 74% of all orders and 1-ton pickup trucks, 14%.
Kwanchai tells the Bangkok Post more than TB90 billion ($2.9 billion) was spent during the show, substantially higher than the target of TB55 billion ($1.8 billion).
But he sees a downside to this year’s record-breaking show, saying he fears demand for new cars could drop by up to 20% next year.
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