Fly on Corporate Wall
Toyota rises (from flood) to meet the challenge Thanks to all that flooding, every business in the land is working double-time just to catch up. Toyota K Motors, Bangkok's biggest Toyota dealer, is trying to re-float its long-submerged sales by adding
The idea is to sell more cars – not just matching pre-disaster rates but hitting a record 30,000 units.
The dealership reckons all of its back orders will be filled by March and it’s totting up the numbers for new orders as customers flock in to see the latest-model cars, pickups and sport-utility vehicles.
With memories of high water still vivid, the Fortuner SUV is proving quite popular. Advanced-sale bookings are up 5-10 per cent. But many interested buyers change their minds when told it will be a while before the Fortuner flies in. They go for a pickup instead.
That’s good news in itself, because pickup production dropped to one-fourth the normal rate in December.
Deputy managing director Chaiyaporn Sompoprungroat says meeting this target is a big challenge, since only 21,000 units have moved thus far. The 30,000 would have been easily doable if not for the flooding.
Toyota Motor Thailand, meanwhile, is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and it’s aiming to sell 500,000 vehicles this year, up from 460,000.
“Toyota Thailand has challenged every dealer to bolster sales,” says Chaiyaporn, “and we have our own challenge to break the record.”
So out come the snazzy promotional campaigns. It seems that no national challenge is too big and no market competition is too fierce.
The government’s tax incentives for first-time car buyers will help the market, but purchasing conditions should be adjusted to facilitate the buyers.
Although Toyota is the first auto-maker to resume normal operations, it still hasn’t caught up with demand. It hopes the government’s flood-prevention plan will be implemented before the rains return in May.
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