Thailand flexes its automotive muscle

MANILA, Philippines - Underscoring its unofficial tag as the “Detroit of Southeast Asia,” Thailand last month threw open the doors to the 32nd edition of its annual Bangkok International Motor Show in what was expected to be the biggest show yet with over 2 million visitors expected to walk the red carpet of the sprawling world-class Impact Muang Thong Thani convention center.

After a glorious record-selling 2010 for the Thai automotive industry, car sales were expected to enjoy another boost from the show, with as much as Bt40 billion and over 28,000 vehicles expected to change hands during the 12-day event which ended yesterday.

Roughly 40 car and motorcycle manufacturers and distributors took part in this year’s show, which is included in the official OICA (Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles, or International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers) calendar of motor shows of the FIA.

It is considered the second largest automobile exhibition event in the Asia-Pacific region, after the bi-annual Tokyo Motor Show. This year the show was moved from Bitec Bang Na, where it was held every year since 1998, to the larger Challenger Hall of Impact Muang Thong Thani.

The most high-profile exhibitors were ironically the Western marques, as Chevrolet and Ford tried to outgun each other with key new pickup truck models that aim to make a sizable mark in this pickup-crazy nation. Chevrolet held the exclusive world premiere of its all-new Colorado pickup while Ford took the wraps off its new Ranger truck. Both Thai-manufactured trucks are expected to go on sale in the right-hand-drive Thai market late this year with left-hand-drive exports to follow several months after.

In addition to the Colorado show truck and the rest of the Chevy line-up composed of the Cruze (including the World Touring Car Championship-winning race car), Captiva and Aveo, Chevrolet Sales (Thailand) also put on display a collection of Chevrolet heritage trucks, including the 1926 Chevrolet Superior Series X, 1956 Chevrolet 3100-series Stepside 1/2-ton pickup and a 1960 Chevrolet pickup that took part in the 16,100-km 2005 “Old Way Expedition”.

Other major scene stealers came from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the Bavarians showing off their full range highlighted by the all-new X3 Sport Activity Vehicle and its MINI subsidiary’s new four-door Countryman crossover and the Stuttgarters, meanwhile, unveiling a host of new Benzes led by the spectacular new SLK sports car.

Volvo had one of the biggest exhibits, which showed off the Scandinavian company’s diverse array of models led by the new S60 sports-luxury sedan.

On the Asian car brand front, the new smaller-than-a-Jazz Honda Brio hatchback made its global debut. The Brio, which is produced under the Thai eco-car project and is thus subject to government incentives, is expected to be the best-selling model at the show. Honda plans to sell 40,000 units of the Brio in its first year.

Mazda also launched a heavily refreshened Mazda3, whose production has been moved from the Philippines to the Ford-Mazda AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT) plant in Rayong.

The biggest news at Nissan’s booth was the Leaf plug-in electric vehicle. The Leaf has just been voted European Car of the Year shortly after its launch there.

Like Honda with its Brio, Mitsubishi was also testing the micro-car market with its Concept Global Small, the eco-car concept that it plans to produce in Thailand. As many as 150,000 units will be built during the first year and annual capacity can be boosted to 200,000 units in subsequent years. A pure-electric version of the Global Small is also planned for production in 2013. Mitsubishi also displayed its already-in-production i-MiEV electric car alongside the Global Small.

Toyota, the biggest automaker in Thailand, did not have a new model but showed off two concept vehicles, the FT-EV II and FT-86. The FT-EV II, is a 2nd-gen electric concept car that is emissions-free and environment-friendly. Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota, showcased its recently launched CT200h, the world’s first and only hybrid luxury-performance hatchback.

Isuzu displayed its line of Alterras and D-MAX pickup trucks including a very race-looking D-MAX racing truck which competes in its own one-make X-series.

Kia showed off a revamped Picanto hatch as well as a sleek Jaguaresque Optima hybrid midsized luxury sedan while cross-town rival/mother company Hyundai showcased its formidable range of Sonatas, Accents and Grand Starexes.

Malaysian carmaker Proton, which is highly popular in Thailand’s budget car market, showed off a high-performance concept sports car – the Lekir – which is based on the current Lotus Europa.

All things considered, the 32nd Bangkok International Motor Show was an eye-opener, not just with the vast assortment of gleaming new concept cars and production models, but with Thailand as a relatively new player slowly but surely asserting itself to be among the world’s greatest auto shows.