Bangkok Motor Show falls far short of expectation

“Although the number of orders was lower than expected, the expected value hasn’t decreased because more people were buying higher-priced models,” said Prachin Eamlumnow, the show’s organiser.

The show still helped move as much as Bt40 billion in sales.

It was hoped to help generate demand for the struggling auto industry, which fell by almost 12 per cent during the first two months of the year to 108,914 units, while February sales reached 57,093 units, down 10.7 per cent from the same month last year. Purchasing power had been exhausted by the year-end rush to purchase vehicles before the new CO2-based excise duty took effect.

“The economy isn’t supportive of purchasing and although auto companies tried to offer highly attractive sales promotions, buyers are still postponing purchases due to their lack of confidence in the economy,” he said.

Price increases of just 5 per cent, due to the new excise duty, still play into consumer decision-making, he said.

While affordable brands like Honda and Toyota are the most popular, luxury cars are gaining ground, with Mercedes-Benz and BMW leading the field. 

The two German luxury carmakers won’t reveal sales figures until the final day, but it has been rumoured that Mercedes has aggregated more than 2,000 orders thanks to the popularity of its all-new E-class model.

After Saturday ended, the order tally was 22,295 units, with many orders to be finalised during the final day. 

Honda was the leader with 3,432 orders thanks to the all-new Civic and BR-V models, followed by Isuzu, enjoying popularity with its new 1.9-litre pickup model, with 3,022 orders. 

Toyota, with no new models except special versions, was third with 2,986 orders, followed by Mazda with 2,565 orders, Mitsubishi 2,430 and Nissan 2,313.

American brands like Ford and Chevrolet were next with 1,989 and 1,035 orders. MG’s expanding product line-up helped it gain 766 orders while Suzuki took 763 orders.