Stung by first-car scheme, Proton
Malaysia-based carmaker Proton has tried hard to penetrate the Thai auto market after it failed to enter the government's first-car scheme.
"Without the first-car scheme, the company has laid out a three-year business plan, expecting sales of 10,000 units a year. All models of Proton cars are planned for import to fill every market segment, such as multipurpose vehicles and passenger cars," said Thawatchai Jungsanguanpornsuk, executive director of Phra Nakorn Auto Sales, the Proton distributor in Thailand.
He said that for this year, the company had adjusted its marketing strategy to make it more competitive. The company has set a sales target for this year of 5,500 units, and also will import a new model in the second half. As a result of the government’s first-car scheme launched last year, Thawatchai said the company sold only 5,600 vehicles in 2011, falling short of the target of 6,000 units.
Under the government programme, first-time car buyers are given a tax refund of up to Bt100,000 for eligible cars. To qualify, cars are required to be assembled in Thailand. Proton was therefore ineligible, as its cars are produced in Malaysia and imported as complete units.
Thawatchai said the company would have to spend as much as Bt300 million, up from Bt200 million normally, on marketing and promotion to boost its car sales here.
Recently, the company has launched a new product line called the Exora. Its sales were in the top three for multipurpose vehicles in the Thai auto market, following the Toyota Innova, which had the first largest share.
