Mazda Quickly Growing Thai Market Share

Mazda plans to boost its share of Thailand’s automotive market, saying the Association of Southeast Asian Nations era is about to arrive.

Thailand was Mazda's sixth-largest market last year behind the U.S., China, Japan, Australia and Canada, and the auto maker expects it to break into the top five this year, surpassing Canada.

Masahiro Moro, executive officer-global marketing, says Mazda considers Thailand both a key single market and a major production and export base in Southeast Asia.

“Today, the global situation is changing all the time, whether it is natural disasters or (the) global economy,” Moro tells The Nation newspaper.

This can cause unexpected events, such as the economic crisis in the U.S. and Europe, he says, noting even China is predicted to experience an economic slowdown in the future.

“When certain countries become weaker, some become stronger,” he says. “The ASEAN region is considered a market with high growth potential, and we can see this from the increasing investment by automotive groups and companies.

The auto maker in 2010 announced a goal of winning a 5% market share in Thailand by 2013, but reached that level last year.

“Mazda has set a new sales target for Thailand, and we plan to sell 60,000 vehicles here this year for a 6% market share, which is expected to rise to 7% in 2013,” says Moro, in Thailand for the launch of the all-new BT-50 PRO pickup truck.

“This growth will accompany our ASEAN regional growth, and Thailand could become one of Mazda's top five markets in the world.”

Moro says the launch of the BT-50 PRO is a strategic move by the auto maker in penetrating not only the Thai market but also those in other ASEAN member countries.

The auto maker is aiming for customers who want a pickup that offers the same feeling as a passenger car but retains pickup capability. “This is a gap in the market that Mazda has discovered, and we think no other manufacturer has a clear sales objective like us.”

Mazda Thailand Managing Director Choichi Yuki says the BT-50 PRO is the most complete and integrated pickup now on the Thai market.

“We hope that after the launch of the all-new Mazda BT-50 PRO, it will initiate a change in direction for the pickup-truck market with its beautiful design both inside and outside, which is reflective of luxury SUVs, and the largest body dimensions in the market,” he says in a statement.

The Nation quotes an unnamed industry source as saying although Mazda has not announced investment plans to handle its projected sales growth in the ASEAN region using Thailand as its manufacturing and export hub, it has no choice but to expand investment.

“Mazda's present capacity will soon fall short of the demand and it will need to expand production,” the source says.