Mazda Eyes Another Record-Breaking Year in Thailand

BANGKOK – Following its best-ever year in Thailand, in which sales surged 76% from 2011, Mazda looks forward to 2013 with an evolving game plan.

It won’t be easy – Choichi Yuki, Mazda Thailand managing director-sales, calls it a “challenging direction” – but the auto maker is confident it can beat the market.

This time last year, the Thai automotive landscape was being turned on its head by the government-supported first-time-buyer scheme, which skewed the market significantly. It remains unclear how much future demand the rebate program absorbed, but the government and OEMs, including Mazda, believe the market will be able to take this spike in stride.

Yuki thinks the market will stabilize in 2013, after a period of further sales distortion as auto makers spend the opening months mopping up first-time-buyer demand. Back orders, he predicts,“will help the market maintain high sales momentum during the first and second quarters.”

Mazda, without an eco-car in its portfolio, wasn't able to fully leverage the full benefits of the first-time-buyer scheme. But as the market returns to form, the auto maker is confident its lineup, which focuses on the B-, C- and pickup segments, will put it in the pole position as attributes such as style, individuality and technology return to the forefront of buyers’ priorities.

Once first-time-buyer orders run out, Yuki expects "market competition will heat up further during the second half of the year."

Mazda also anticipates increased interest in the BT-50 Pro pickup, which after more than a year on the market is gaining wider acceptance of its challenging styling.

Without the financial punch or depth of Toyota or Honda here, Mazda focuses on a tight lineup and chases unique attributes, looking to find space and position its cars accordingly. That is a strategy that will continue in 2013, says Marketing Director Sureetip La-Ongthong Chomthongdee.

“This year, Mazda will introduce new models and limited-edition models every quarter, which are unique and outstanding,” with the aim of creating “brand exclusivity,” she says. Chomthongdee sees design and technology as keys to increasing market share. Rolling out the auto maker’s highly regarded SkyActiv powertrain technology forms a vital part of this strategy.

Yuki wants to see Mazda build on its 2012 performance, when sales roughly matched the overall market’s 79% rise. He notes that while last year’s initial target was 60,000 units, that was upped to 70,000 midyear.

In the end, a record 73,764 units were sold. “The success turned out even higher than we expected,” he says.

Yuki foresees a year of intense competition in the Thai market in 2013, and expects total sales to come in at between 1.2 million and 1.3 million units. He also predicts another record year for Mazda. “We plan to achieve the highest sales figures since we entered the Thai market, by selling 80,000 units.” That would be a 10% gain on 2012.

The executive sees the auto maker’s 2013 market share growing to between 6% and 7%, with cars representing 60% of sales and pickups, 40%. “Production capacity is higher than last year,” he adds.

Yuki lists several strategies to drive the brand forward:

The auto maker will add 20 dealers, bringing the nationwide total to 165, with outlets in Bangkok alone growing from 37 to 45.

Besides its locally built models, Mazda imports the MX-5 sports car and CX-9 cross/utility vehicle as completely built-up units.

The end of the first-time-buyer program hasn’t taken the government completely out of the automotive picture. As part of a revised excise-tax program taking effect in 2016, the levy on eco-cars falls from 17% to 14% if their carbon-dioxide emissions fall below 100 g/km.

Rather than develop an eco-car, Mazda is working steadily to upgrade its existing SkyActiv technology.“We take a step-by-step approach, improving the efficiency of the engine (to the) maximum level,” Yuki says.