Toyota has announced its first year-on-year rise in foreign production in 13 months as Japan's auto giants slowly get back on track after the worst recession in decades.
Toyota's smaller rival, Nissan, also saw the first increase in domestic sales since July 2008, while demand for honda vehicles rose for a second straight month, helped by government incentives for people to buy new cars.
Toyata,the world's biggest automaker, said its global production fell 8.7 per cent year on year in August, to 508,673 vehicles, but that was better than a 20.1-per-cent drop in July.
Outside of Japan,its output rose 4.7 per cent from a year earlier ato 309,589 vehicles, while domestic sales went up 9.5 per cent to 92,621.
Nissan said its global production dropped 13.7 per cent year on year in August,to 217,954 vehicles,after a 15.9-per-cent drop in July. But global sales were just 0.2-per-cent lower than a year earlier at 299,400 vehicles and domestic sales gained 0.8 per cent to 40,925 vehicles.
Honda's global production was down 16.6 per cent in August from a year earlier, to 246.403 vehicles,after a 24.3 per cent slump in July. But its production in Asia and China set all-time records and domestic sales rose 4.2 per cent to 40,720 vehicles, the company said.
Vehicle sales in Japan rose in August from a year earlier for the first time in 13 months, an auto mobile dealers' association reported.
Domestic auto sales fell to a 38 year low in the business year to March 2009 as the global economic downturn weighed on consumer sentiment.
The popularity of fuel-efficient vehicles,buoyed by government tax breaks,is helping to re-energise ailing world auto markets.
In the United States, Toyota's Corolla, Camry and Prius were some of the top-selling cars under Washington's "Cash for Clunkers" programme that offered customers.cash for trading-in gas-guzzler. The programme ended last month.
Major Japanese auto-makers have suffered losses or sharply reduced earnings because of a dramatic slump in sales, prompting thousands of job cuts.
In another sign of life slowly returning to the troubled industry Toyota said earlier this month that it would hire about 800 temporary workers.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
HONDA HOPE NEW HYBRID WILL REPEAT INSIGHT SUCCESS
Honda is hoping to repeat the success of its Insight with another hybrid-only model, the CR-Z, and Japanese automarker is once again promising affordable prices.
Honda stunned the industry with the low pricing of its Insight hy brid car, which went on sale in January at 1.89 yen million (Bt706,000) in Japan, and under US$20,000 (Bt669,000) in the United States.
A version of the CR-Z that's close to the commercial model that will go on sale in February next year will be shown for the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the media on October 21 and to the public two days later. However,reporters got a preveil at the show,including the CR-Z, which stands for "compact renaissance zero."
The Insight became a hit, selling more than 65,000 units globally, mostly in Japan, where ecological tax breaks and cash-for-clunkers programmes have boosted hybrid sales.
The arrival of the Insight also helped pressure rival Toyota to keep the remodelled Prius hybird, which followed a few months later,at a relatively cheap price, starting at 2.05 yen million in Japan and $22,000 in the US.
The CR-Z has a 1.5-litre engine and is bigger than the Insight, which has a 1.3-litre engine, but smaller than the 1.8-litre Prius.
Honda appears to be keeping the prius in mind when setting the CR-Z's price.
"If this costs as much as 2.7 yen million, no one is going to take another look at this car," said CR-Z engineer Takashi Nagura, while declining to give a price.
The new model targets singles and childless couples, rather than families, with its curvaceous sporty design. It also doesn't have much back-seat room.
Honda will also be showing a tiny retro-looking electric vehicle called the EV-N at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Designers usually like to give a cube-like shape to electric vehicles to accentuate tha fact that they don't have a petrol engine and don't need to look like a typical car. But Honda has deliberately given the EV-N a front that looks like it can accommodate an engine, although all that's beneath the hood is luggage space.
A HYBRID CR-Z is shown in a Tokyo studio on September 18. Honda is hoping to repeat the success of its Insight with this new hybrid-only model.
Honda stunned the industry with the low pricing of its Insight hy brid car, which went on sale in January at 1.89 yen million (Bt706,000) in Japan, and under US$20,000 (Bt669,000) in the United States.
A version of the CR-Z that's close to the commercial model that will go on sale in February next year will be shown for the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the media on October 21 and to the public two days later. However,reporters got a preveil at the show,including the CR-Z, which stands for "compact renaissance zero."
The Insight became a hit, selling more than 65,000 units globally, mostly in Japan, where ecological tax breaks and cash-for-clunkers programmes have boosted hybrid sales.
The arrival of the Insight also helped pressure rival Toyota to keep the remodelled Prius hybird, which followed a few months later,at a relatively cheap price, starting at 2.05 yen million in Japan and $22,000 in the US.
The CR-Z has a 1.5-litre engine and is bigger than the Insight, which has a 1.3-litre engine, but smaller than the 1.8-litre Prius.
Honda appears to be keeping the prius in mind when setting the CR-Z's price.
"If this costs as much as 2.7 yen million, no one is going to take another look at this car," said CR-Z engineer Takashi Nagura, while declining to give a price.
The new model targets singles and childless couples, rather than families, with its curvaceous sporty design. It also doesn't have much back-seat room.
Honda will also be showing a tiny retro-looking electric vehicle called the EV-N at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Designers usually like to give a cube-like shape to electric vehicles to accentuate tha fact that they don't have a petrol engine and don't need to look like a typical car. But Honda has deliberately given the EV-N a front that looks like it can accommodate an engine, although all that's beneath the hood is luggage space.
A HYBRID CR-Z is shown in a Tokyo studio on September 18. Honda is hoping to repeat the success of its Insight with this new hybrid-only model.
Honda has high hopes for hybrid
Honda Motor Co is hoping to repeat the success of its Insight with another hybrid-only model, the CR-Z.And the Japanese automaker is promising affordable pricing - again.
Honda stunned the industry with the low pricing of its Insight hybrid car,which went on sale in February at 1.89 million yen ($20,000) in Japan, and under $20,000 in the United States.
The version of the CR-Z that's close to the commercial model going on sale in February will be shown for the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show. The show will be open to media on Oct 21, ahead of its official opening on Oct 23, and run through Nov 4.
Reporters got a preview of the models Honda will unveil at the show, including the CR-Z, which stands for "compact renaissance zero."
The Insight became a hit, selling more than 65,000 units globally since going on sale in January, mostly in Japan, where ecological tax breaks and cash-forclunkers programs have boosted hybrid sales.
The arrival of the Insight also helped pressure rival Toyota Motor Corp to keep the remodeled Prius hybrid, which followed a fewmonths later, at a relatively cheap price, starting at 2.05 million yen ($22,000) in Japan, and $22,000 in the United States.
Honda appears to have in mind as a rough reference the Prius in setting the CR-Z price.
The CR-Z has a 1.5 litre engine and is bigger than the Insight with a 1.3 litre engine, but it's smaller than the 1.8 litre Prius.
"If this costs as much as 2.7 million yen ($30,000), no one is going to take another look at this car," said Takashi Nagura, an engineer for the CR-Z, while declining to give a price.
The model targets empty-nesters,singles and childless couples, rather than families, with its curvaceous sporty design. It also doesn't have much backseat room.
At the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda is also showing a tiny retro-looking electric vehicle called EV-N.
Designers usually like to give a cubelike shape to an electric vehicle to accentuate it doesn't have a gas engine and doesn't need to look like a typical car.
But Honda purposely gave EV-N a front that looks like it can fit an engine,although all that's there beneath the hood is a trunk.
"We wanted to create a lovable and fun design," said Honda official Yoshiro Tanaka.
Honda is also showing another hybrid at the show - the futuristic-looking sixseater Skydeck, which is still a concept model with no immediate plans for a commercial release.
Honda stunned the industry with the low pricing of its Insight hybrid car,which went on sale in February at 1.89 million yen ($20,000) in Japan, and under $20,000 in the United States.
The version of the CR-Z that's close to the commercial model going on sale in February will be shown for the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show. The show will be open to media on Oct 21, ahead of its official opening on Oct 23, and run through Nov 4.
Reporters got a preview of the models Honda will unveil at the show, including the CR-Z, which stands for "compact renaissance zero."
The Insight became a hit, selling more than 65,000 units globally since going on sale in January, mostly in Japan, where ecological tax breaks and cash-forclunkers programs have boosted hybrid sales.
The arrival of the Insight also helped pressure rival Toyota Motor Corp to keep the remodeled Prius hybrid, which followed a fewmonths later, at a relatively cheap price, starting at 2.05 million yen ($22,000) in Japan, and $22,000 in the United States.
Honda appears to have in mind as a rough reference the Prius in setting the CR-Z price.
The CR-Z has a 1.5 litre engine and is bigger than the Insight with a 1.3 litre engine, but it's smaller than the 1.8 litre Prius.
"If this costs as much as 2.7 million yen ($30,000), no one is going to take another look at this car," said Takashi Nagura, an engineer for the CR-Z, while declining to give a price.
The model targets empty-nesters,singles and childless couples, rather than families, with its curvaceous sporty design. It also doesn't have much backseat room.
At the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda is also showing a tiny retro-looking electric vehicle called EV-N.
Designers usually like to give a cubelike shape to an electric vehicle to accentuate it doesn't have a gas engine and doesn't need to look like a typical car.
But Honda purposely gave EV-N a front that looks like it can fit an engine,although all that's there beneath the hood is a trunk.
"We wanted to create a lovable and fun design," said Honda official Yoshiro Tanaka.
Honda is also showing another hybrid at the show - the futuristic-looking sixseater Skydeck, which is still a concept model with no immediate plans for a commercial release.
Toyota hurt but not beaten by mat woes
Toyota's biggest ever US recall is an image blight, dealing a blow right when the Japanese automaker had been planning a North American marketing blitz to turn around its money-losing business.
Yet the news could have been worse for Toyota Motor Corp.
The problem can be fixed with relative ease by exchanging floor mats, when some recalls involve taking apart cars.
Analysts said yesterday the flaw was unlikely to exact a great toll on Toyota's already-suffering bottom line.
"It's making big headlines because of the big numbers, but in terms of the company's profits, it is not likely to have a big impact," said Mamoru Katou, auto analyst with Tokai Tokyo Research.
As many as 3.8 million Toyota vehicles in the United States may need to replace floor mats that are suspected of causing accelerators to get stuck, leading to crashes.
The recall would involve popular models such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America,and the Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid, although it doesn't include the third-generation Prius that went on sale earlier this year.
Toyota has expanded globally, riding on its reputation for sterling quality,and became the world's biggest automaker in 2008, surpassing General Motors Co.
But even Toyota officials have acknowledged that recalls have been surging in recent years, and more efforts are needed to ensure quality.
Toyota spokesman Yuta Kaga in Tokyo said it was still unclear whether the company will issue a formal recall over the floor mats."For now, Toyota is telling owners to take out the mats, and not replace them while the company investigates causes."
He denied a Kyodo report that said Toyota was scrambling to check if the same problem was affecting vehicles sold in Japan.
The company did not yet have an assessment for the costs, including legal fees or liability costs.
Ryoichi Saito, auto analyst for Mizuho Investors Securities in Tokyo, said changing a floor mat was likely not as expensive as dealing with a defective transmission or engine.
"Recalls are never good for a company's image," he said."But I don't foresee major damage to Toyota's earnings."
The floor mat problem is just the latest in Toyota's troubles.
The world's biggest automaker by global vehicle sales, Toyota was seriously battered by the credit crunch and auto slump that struck last year, sinking to its worst ever yearly loss of 437 billion yen ($4.9 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31.
Toyota is forecasting a 450 billion yen loss for the fiscal year through March 2010, although hopes surfaced have lately that the worst may be over, with sales recovering enough to allow Toyota to project a narrower loss.
The automaker has been preparing an aggressive marketing campaign in North America for the coming months,although Kaga declined to confirm a reported $1 billion in spending.
Toyota announced yesterday it was rehiring 1,600 contract workers at its Japanese plants, whose contracts had not been renewed during the slowdown.Toyota said overseas and domestic sales were recovering, boosted by ecological and tax incentives around the world.
Earlier this month, the automaker said it was adding 800 such workers, because of booming Prius sales, but said that was now being doubled.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said it had received reports of 102 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck on the Toyota vehicles involved.
The inquiry was prompted by a crash in August in California of a Lexus barreling out of control, killing California highway patrol officer Mark Saylor,45, and three family members.
The recall will affect 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry,2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius,2005-2010 Tacoma,2007-2010 Toyota Tundra,2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.
Yet the news could have been worse for Toyota Motor Corp.
The problem can be fixed with relative ease by exchanging floor mats, when some recalls involve taking apart cars.
Analysts said yesterday the flaw was unlikely to exact a great toll on Toyota's already-suffering bottom line.
"It's making big headlines because of the big numbers, but in terms of the company's profits, it is not likely to have a big impact," said Mamoru Katou, auto analyst with Tokai Tokyo Research.
As many as 3.8 million Toyota vehicles in the United States may need to replace floor mats that are suspected of causing accelerators to get stuck, leading to crashes.
The recall would involve popular models such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America,and the Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid, although it doesn't include the third-generation Prius that went on sale earlier this year.
Toyota has expanded globally, riding on its reputation for sterling quality,and became the world's biggest automaker in 2008, surpassing General Motors Co.
But even Toyota officials have acknowledged that recalls have been surging in recent years, and more efforts are needed to ensure quality.
Toyota spokesman Yuta Kaga in Tokyo said it was still unclear whether the company will issue a formal recall over the floor mats."For now, Toyota is telling owners to take out the mats, and not replace them while the company investigates causes."
He denied a Kyodo report that said Toyota was scrambling to check if the same problem was affecting vehicles sold in Japan.
The company did not yet have an assessment for the costs, including legal fees or liability costs.
Ryoichi Saito, auto analyst for Mizuho Investors Securities in Tokyo, said changing a floor mat was likely not as expensive as dealing with a defective transmission or engine.
"Recalls are never good for a company's image," he said."But I don't foresee major damage to Toyota's earnings."
The floor mat problem is just the latest in Toyota's troubles.
The world's biggest automaker by global vehicle sales, Toyota was seriously battered by the credit crunch and auto slump that struck last year, sinking to its worst ever yearly loss of 437 billion yen ($4.9 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31.
Toyota is forecasting a 450 billion yen loss for the fiscal year through March 2010, although hopes surfaced have lately that the worst may be over, with sales recovering enough to allow Toyota to project a narrower loss.
The automaker has been preparing an aggressive marketing campaign in North America for the coming months,although Kaga declined to confirm a reported $1 billion in spending.
Toyota announced yesterday it was rehiring 1,600 contract workers at its Japanese plants, whose contracts had not been renewed during the slowdown.Toyota said overseas and domestic sales were recovering, boosted by ecological and tax incentives around the world.
Earlier this month, the automaker said it was adding 800 such workers, because of booming Prius sales, but said that was now being doubled.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said it had received reports of 102 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck on the Toyota vehicles involved.
The inquiry was prompted by a crash in August in California of a Lexus barreling out of control, killing California highway patrol officer Mark Saylor,45, and three family members.
The recall will affect 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry,2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius,2005-2010 Tacoma,2007-2010 Toyota Tundra,2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
CAN ELECTRIC CARS MAKE INROADS INTO THE MASS MARKET?
The new generation of electric cars has been one of the talking points
at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show By James Moore
"They're dreadful." Charles Cohen's view of electric cars is unequivocal. He should know, he drives one. The chief executive of mobile phone gaming company Probability is the (less than) proud owner of an Aixam Mega City, which he uses to get into his London office.
It is, he explains, because the incentives are compelling. Electric cars incur no congestion charge, can be parked for a snip and charged up for free. And there's no road tax.If only the driving was a better experience."They're beyond appalling, really. They won't even get up Hampstead Hill. But effectively you're paid to do it if you work in Westminster. The next generation will be better, though," says Mr Cohen.
It's that generation that was on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show this month as manufacturers fell over each other to show how clean and green their cars are. The "taxis" ferrying journalists around were plastered with stickers claiming minimal emissions. The new electric models claim zero. Powered by a lithium-ion battery similar to those inside notebook computers - the range (always a problem) claimed for the larger models is more than 160km with the possibility of reaching speeds of 110-130kph.
The UK government has announced a ฃ10 million (539 million baht) loan to India's Tata Motors in order to make electric cars in
the UK. Part of a scheme backing low-carbon tec-
nology in the car industry,
it will support a ฃ25 million investment by Tata in its West Midlandsbased European Technical
Centre (TMETC) to develop and manufacture "green" vehicles. Tata has developed a four-seater electric car, with a range of up to 200km and a top speed of 105kph. It will go into production before the end of the year.The Renault-Nissan Alliance has also staked much on being the leader in the field, with a ฃ3.6 billion investment in nextgeneration electric cars. Simon Sproule, head of global communications for the firm, says:"The current generation to the next generation is like VHS to DVD. Electric vehicles have come and gone many times in the past, but they have never really been successful because the products have never been acceptable to the mass market. There has also never been the infrastructure to support it. That's going to change."
If Renault is right, its Zoe, along with the Tesla, the VW E-up plus the electric Ford Focus and the electric Mini will be replacing petrol-engine cars throughout the UK. In a world where, for the first time, urban residents outnumber country dwellers,"clean" vehicles capable of making short journeys in comfort should come into their own.
"We have a confluence of factors that make the electric vehicle viable," Mr Sproule argues. This includes a steady roll-out of charging points with other ideas, such as exchange stations to enable people to swap spent batteries for full ones.
Not everyone is convinced. Tim Urquhart,senior automotive industry analyst at IHS Global Insight, notes that car-makers are now "investing very heavily" in electric. But,he says, there are still obstacles in the way of mass take-up."There is the infrastructure for a start. Renault are trying to overcome this with battery-swap facilities, like petrol stations. But to do this people have to be trained, land has to be bought and stations have to be built. There are massive cost implications. Even then, assuming you can get over that, electric is not going to be the beall and end-all. Even with a 160km range,they are never going to work for your sales reps."
Mr Urquhart also says that the claim that electric cars provide "emission-free motoring"is untrue, particularly if the electricity that powers them comes from coal-fired power stations. And how would the energy-thirsty UK cope with the demand electric cars could create, given the "supply gap" the country is facing?
He argues that petrol engines, driven by government demands, are becoming increasingly efficient themselves."The Blue Motion Polo does 70 to 80 miles per gallon [25 to 28km/litre]. That's pretty impressive."
Ultimately, though, he says that while the car-makers are charging ahead with investment in electric, the technology will probably meet in the middle somewhere for the mass market, probably with an ultra-efficient petrolelectric hybrid.
at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show By James Moore
"They're dreadful." Charles Cohen's view of electric cars is unequivocal. He should know, he drives one. The chief executive of mobile phone gaming company Probability is the (less than) proud owner of an Aixam Mega City, which he uses to get into his London office.
It is, he explains, because the incentives are compelling. Electric cars incur no congestion charge, can be parked for a snip and charged up for free. And there's no road tax.If only the driving was a better experience."They're beyond appalling, really. They won't even get up Hampstead Hill. But effectively you're paid to do it if you work in Westminster. The next generation will be better, though," says Mr Cohen.
It's that generation that was on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show this month as manufacturers fell over each other to show how clean and green their cars are. The "taxis" ferrying journalists around were plastered with stickers claiming minimal emissions. The new electric models claim zero. Powered by a lithium-ion battery similar to those inside notebook computers - the range (always a problem) claimed for the larger models is more than 160km with the possibility of reaching speeds of 110-130kph.
The UK government has announced a ฃ10 million (539 million baht) loan to India's Tata Motors in order to make electric cars in
the UK. Part of a scheme backing low-carbon tec-
nology in the car industry,
it will support a ฃ25 million investment by Tata in its West Midlandsbased European Technical
Centre (TMETC) to develop and manufacture "green" vehicles. Tata has developed a four-seater electric car, with a range of up to 200km and a top speed of 105kph. It will go into production before the end of the year.The Renault-Nissan Alliance has also staked much on being the leader in the field, with a ฃ3.6 billion investment in nextgeneration electric cars. Simon Sproule, head of global communications for the firm, says:"The current generation to the next generation is like VHS to DVD. Electric vehicles have come and gone many times in the past, but they have never really been successful because the products have never been acceptable to the mass market. There has also never been the infrastructure to support it. That's going to change."
If Renault is right, its Zoe, along with the Tesla, the VW E-up plus the electric Ford Focus and the electric Mini will be replacing petrol-engine cars throughout the UK. In a world where, for the first time, urban residents outnumber country dwellers,"clean" vehicles capable of making short journeys in comfort should come into their own.
"We have a confluence of factors that make the electric vehicle viable," Mr Sproule argues. This includes a steady roll-out of charging points with other ideas, such as exchange stations to enable people to swap spent batteries for full ones.
Not everyone is convinced. Tim Urquhart,senior automotive industry analyst at IHS Global Insight, notes that car-makers are now "investing very heavily" in electric. But,he says, there are still obstacles in the way of mass take-up."There is the infrastructure for a start. Renault are trying to overcome this with battery-swap facilities, like petrol stations. But to do this people have to be trained, land has to be bought and stations have to be built. There are massive cost implications. Even then, assuming you can get over that, electric is not going to be the beall and end-all. Even with a 160km range,they are never going to work for your sales reps."
Mr Urquhart also says that the claim that electric cars provide "emission-free motoring"is untrue, particularly if the electricity that powers them comes from coal-fired power stations. And how would the energy-thirsty UK cope with the demand electric cars could create, given the "supply gap" the country is facing?
He argues that petrol engines, driven by government demands, are becoming increasingly efficient themselves."The Blue Motion Polo does 70 to 80 miles per gallon [25 to 28km/litre]. That's pretty impressive."
Ultimately, though, he says that while the car-makers are charging ahead with investment in electric, the technology will probably meet in the middle somewhere for the mass market, probably with an ultra-efficient petrolelectric hybrid.
WEALTHY PEOPLE PREFER FAMILY OVER FANCY CARS
Wealthy professionals and business owners aim to quadruple their assets over the next decade and are more likely to spend their riches on family than sports cars and safaris, according to a study released at the weekend.
About 41 per cent of the 1,414 people surveyed, currently worth an average of US$2 million (Bt68 million), made money through the financial crisis and 78 per cent expect to increase their wealth in 2010, according to the study by London-based wealth management adviser-Scorpio Partnership and Standard Chartered.
Such investors, including doctors, lawyers, architects and entrepreneurs, comprise a "global tribe" of sveral million that is often misunderstood by wealth managers, said Sebastian Dovey, Scorpio's managing partner.
Upwardly mobile professionals are preoccupied with schooling, holidays and family life, rather than the helicopter flighrs and "once-in-a-lifetime safaris" marketed by pricate banks, he said.
"It's one of those myths that if you're rich, you're going to be brash," Dovey said. "Of course there are inidivuduals who liek to buy the flash red Lamborghini, but the vast majority are looking for the quality Volvo."
Wealth managers should appeal to this growing source of potential clients as they seek to increase assets under management after the global recession, Dovey said.
Scorpio's survey was conducted between May and June with the assistance of branding firms Morar Consulting and Goosebumps.
Global wealth decreased 11.7 per cent to $92.4 trillion last year, according to a survey by Boston Consulting Group, the first drop since the study began in 2001.
"It's not the secret service world of finance, this is part of the high street," Dovey said. "The wealth industry has been built on the assumption that the rich will come to them, but they don't have to. They could choose to buy property."
Wealth managers need to better understand the outlook of their clients and potential customers, Peter Flavel, global head of Standard Chartered Private Bank, said.
"We also need to understand the emotional link between life and wealth," Flavel said.
"What are the goals, motivations and ambitions of those who have every expectation of increasing their wealth in the future?"
UBS Barclays are two of the first wealth managers to recognises the need to understand and a wider audience, Dovey said.
Barclays Wealth asks clients to complete psychological tests to assess their risk appetite and reaction to large gains or losses to help guide investment advice.
A report published in June by the Barclays unit found that rich investors were paralysed because of concern markets may decline further. More than two-thirds of 2,100 people surveyed worldwide said the risks of price fluctuations were too high.
"While the economic crisis has given the future wealthy pause for thought about how to achieve their financial targets, most remain highly ambitious that they can quadruple their current levels of wealth, typically within a 10-year time period," Scorpio said.
Upwardly mobile professionals are preoccupied with schooling, holidays and family life, rather than helicopter flights and once-in-lifetime safaris trips.
About 41 per cent of the 1,414 people surveyed, currently worth an average of US$2 million (Bt68 million), made money through the financial crisis and 78 per cent expect to increase their wealth in 2010, according to the study by London-based wealth management adviser-Scorpio Partnership and Standard Chartered.
Such investors, including doctors, lawyers, architects and entrepreneurs, comprise a "global tribe" of sveral million that is often misunderstood by wealth managers, said Sebastian Dovey, Scorpio's managing partner.
Upwardly mobile professionals are preoccupied with schooling, holidays and family life, rather than the helicopter flighrs and "once-in-a-lifetime safaris" marketed by pricate banks, he said.
"It's one of those myths that if you're rich, you're going to be brash," Dovey said. "Of course there are inidivuduals who liek to buy the flash red Lamborghini, but the vast majority are looking for the quality Volvo."
Wealth managers should appeal to this growing source of potential clients as they seek to increase assets under management after the global recession, Dovey said.
Scorpio's survey was conducted between May and June with the assistance of branding firms Morar Consulting and Goosebumps.
Global wealth decreased 11.7 per cent to $92.4 trillion last year, according to a survey by Boston Consulting Group, the first drop since the study began in 2001.
"It's not the secret service world of finance, this is part of the high street," Dovey said. "The wealth industry has been built on the assumption that the rich will come to them, but they don't have to. They could choose to buy property."
Wealth managers need to better understand the outlook of their clients and potential customers, Peter Flavel, global head of Standard Chartered Private Bank, said.
"We also need to understand the emotional link between life and wealth," Flavel said.
"What are the goals, motivations and ambitions of those who have every expectation of increasing their wealth in the future?"
UBS Barclays are two of the first wealth managers to recognises the need to understand and a wider audience, Dovey said.
Barclays Wealth asks clients to complete psychological tests to assess their risk appetite and reaction to large gains or losses to help guide investment advice.
A report published in June by the Barclays unit found that rich investors were paralysed because of concern markets may decline further. More than two-thirds of 2,100 people surveyed worldwide said the risks of price fluctuations were too high.
"While the economic crisis has given the future wealthy pause for thought about how to achieve their financial targets, most remain highly ambitious that they can quadruple their current levels of wealth, typically within a 10-year time period," Scorpio said.
Upwardly mobile professionals are preoccupied with schooling, holidays and family life, rather than helicopter flights and once-in-lifetime safaris trips.
JLR to close one of two British plants
Jaguar Land Rover said on Thursday that it planned to close one factory in England and would introduce a new model of the Range Rover sport utility in a bid to reverse recent losses.
The firm, owned by Tata Motors of India, said it would decide next year whether to shut its factory at Castle Bromwich, which makes Jaguars, or its Solihull plant, which makes Range Rovers.
No compulsory redundancies would be involved in the closure, the company said, but unions reacted angrily to the company's announcement that it will close its defined-benefit pension plan to newmembers, and make other changes for existing members.
"While Unite welcomes moves to green the JLR product range, we are deeply concerned that an agreement struck with the union barely six months ago will not now be upheld and that the company is seeking to close the final salary pension scheme," said Dave Osborne, national officer of Unite.
"In April our members agreed to changes to terms and conditions of their employment in order to give the company financial security, but like Oliver Twist they are coming back for more. It appears that the company is making our members pay for their failure to secure government funding."
The GMB union "will be opposing everything we have heard so far," said Bert Hill, GMB's regional officer.
Last month, talks collapsed with the British government about guaranteeing a ฃ340 million ($554.7 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to fund research to develop more environmentally friendly cars .
Tata Motors said at the time it was securing guarantees from commercial banks instead.
Jaguar Land Rover has cut about 2,500 jobs in the past year, frozen pay and canceled bonuses.
The company has about 5,000 workers in Solihull, 2,000 in Castle Bromwich and 1,800 at Halewood near Liverpool,where it says it plans to add 800 jobs in the restructuring.
The company also confirmed it would move into production with the compact LRX Range Rover, which was introduced as a concept model at the Detroit auto show last year. The British government has offered a grant up to ฃ27 million ($43.7 million) to support the new model.
"This is a plan that recognises the impact the economic collapse has had on our business, and at the same time the opportunities that lie ahead for these two great brands," said Jaguar Land Rover CEO David Smith."We are confident that a new more efficient and competitive structure combined with future investment will unlock the true potential of this business."
A 52% drop in sales at Jaguar Land Rover dragged Tata Motors to lose 3.3 billion rupees ($67.2 million) in the AprilJune quarter. Tata acquired the British carmaker from Ford last year.AP
Rajiv Dube, left, president of passenger cars, and Rohit Suri, head of the premier car division of Tata Motors, pose with the Freelander 2 during its India launch in Mumbai on Tuesday. Tata,which recently acquired Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motor, will sell the Freelander 2 in India with a starting price of 3,379,000 rupees (approximately $70,000).
The firm, owned by Tata Motors of India, said it would decide next year whether to shut its factory at Castle Bromwich, which makes Jaguars, or its Solihull plant, which makes Range Rovers.
No compulsory redundancies would be involved in the closure, the company said, but unions reacted angrily to the company's announcement that it will close its defined-benefit pension plan to newmembers, and make other changes for existing members.
"While Unite welcomes moves to green the JLR product range, we are deeply concerned that an agreement struck with the union barely six months ago will not now be upheld and that the company is seeking to close the final salary pension scheme," said Dave Osborne, national officer of Unite.
"In April our members agreed to changes to terms and conditions of their employment in order to give the company financial security, but like Oliver Twist they are coming back for more. It appears that the company is making our members pay for their failure to secure government funding."
The GMB union "will be opposing everything we have heard so far," said Bert Hill, GMB's regional officer.
Last month, talks collapsed with the British government about guaranteeing a ฃ340 million ($554.7 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to fund research to develop more environmentally friendly cars .
Tata Motors said at the time it was securing guarantees from commercial banks instead.
Jaguar Land Rover has cut about 2,500 jobs in the past year, frozen pay and canceled bonuses.
The company has about 5,000 workers in Solihull, 2,000 in Castle Bromwich and 1,800 at Halewood near Liverpool,where it says it plans to add 800 jobs in the restructuring.
The company also confirmed it would move into production with the compact LRX Range Rover, which was introduced as a concept model at the Detroit auto show last year. The British government has offered a grant up to ฃ27 million ($43.7 million) to support the new model.
"This is a plan that recognises the impact the economic collapse has had on our business, and at the same time the opportunities that lie ahead for these two great brands," said Jaguar Land Rover CEO David Smith."We are confident that a new more efficient and competitive structure combined with future investment will unlock the true potential of this business."
A 52% drop in sales at Jaguar Land Rover dragged Tata Motors to lose 3.3 billion rupees ($67.2 million) in the AprilJune quarter. Tata acquired the British carmaker from Ford last year.AP
Rajiv Dube, left, president of passenger cars, and Rohit Suri, head of the premier car division of Tata Motors, pose with the Freelander 2 during its India launch in Mumbai on Tuesday. Tata,which recently acquired Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motor, will sell the Freelander 2 in India with a starting price of 3,379,000 rupees (approximately $70,000).
Ford plans to rev up Chinese production
Ford Motor Co said yesterday it planned to spend $490 million on building a third assembly plant in China, ramping up production to meet surging demand in this fast-growing market as the US automaker expands in Asia.
The factory, to be built in the central Chinese city of Chongqing, will make the next-generation Focus compact car,which Ford plans to sell globally.
The announcement from Chongqing came the day after the Dearborn,Michigan-based automaker unveiled a made-in-India compact car 'Figo'- part of a plan to boost sales in Asia, a region the US automaker has hardly dented but is counting on to drive growth.
The four-door Figo, which is Italian slang for 'cool', will go on sale in India during the first quarter of next year.
"Today's announcement reinforces our commitment to the further expansion of our China operations to meet the continued rise in demand from Chinese consumers for world-class Ford products and services," Ford chief executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.
In India earlier this week, Mulally said he expected a third of global car sales to come from Asia in 20 years, a third from the Americas and a third from Europe and Russia.
China is proving a lifesaver for all the big automakers, helping offset miseries elsewhere.
Total sales in January-August surpassed those in the US for all but two months, rising to 8.33 million units, up nearly 30% from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Sales should soar to 12.6 million units this year, up 35% from 2008, boosted by subsidies that the industry is lobbying Beijing to extend, Xu Changming, a senior economist with the Cabinet's State Information Centre, said at a seminar in Beijing yesterday.
"The government is due to decide by mid-December," Xu said,"if it will continue the subsidies, which are aimed at promoting energy-efficient vehicles."
"If the policy is extended to next year,rapid growth of auto sales will be sustained," Xu said."Otherwise, it will fluctuate, and it's hard to predict the degree."
The Chongqing plant, part of Ford's joint venture Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co, is the third for Ford in China and its second in Chongqing, an industrial hub of 30 million people sprawled along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Slated for full completion by 2012,Ford said the plant would be equipped to make other small cars on the company's global C-car platform in addition to the Focus.
The Focus, scheduled to debut in January at the North American International Auto Show, represents a shift toward C-segment vehicles that Ford says it expects to account for nearly 28% of global sales by 2013.
Ford lags behind other automakers in Asia, capturing only 2% of auto sales there, compared with nearly 15% in North America and 10% in Europe.
Ford currently produces 450,000 vehicles in China annually."The new Chongqing facility will initially be able to manufacture 150,000 cars per year,with the capacity to produce 600,000 by 2012 when the plant is at full capacity,"the company said.
Ford's current plant in Chongqing makes the Ford Focus, Ford Mondeo and Ford S-MAX. Its plant in Nanjing, in eastern China, makes the Ford Fiesta.
Changan Ford Mazda Engine Co also has an engine manufacturing plant in Nanjing with an annual capacity of 350,000 units - one of the largest in China.
Ford's other partner in China, Jiangling Motors Corp, makes commercial vehicles, including the popular Ford Transit van.
Ford also says it plans to introduce four new vehicles in the Chinese market in the next three years.
The factory, to be built in the central Chinese city of Chongqing, will make the next-generation Focus compact car,which Ford plans to sell globally.
The announcement from Chongqing came the day after the Dearborn,Michigan-based automaker unveiled a made-in-India compact car 'Figo'- part of a plan to boost sales in Asia, a region the US automaker has hardly dented but is counting on to drive growth.
The four-door Figo, which is Italian slang for 'cool', will go on sale in India during the first quarter of next year.
"Today's announcement reinforces our commitment to the further expansion of our China operations to meet the continued rise in demand from Chinese consumers for world-class Ford products and services," Ford chief executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.
In India earlier this week, Mulally said he expected a third of global car sales to come from Asia in 20 years, a third from the Americas and a third from Europe and Russia.
China is proving a lifesaver for all the big automakers, helping offset miseries elsewhere.
Total sales in January-August surpassed those in the US for all but two months, rising to 8.33 million units, up nearly 30% from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Sales should soar to 12.6 million units this year, up 35% from 2008, boosted by subsidies that the industry is lobbying Beijing to extend, Xu Changming, a senior economist with the Cabinet's State Information Centre, said at a seminar in Beijing yesterday.
"The government is due to decide by mid-December," Xu said,"if it will continue the subsidies, which are aimed at promoting energy-efficient vehicles."
"If the policy is extended to next year,rapid growth of auto sales will be sustained," Xu said."Otherwise, it will fluctuate, and it's hard to predict the degree."
The Chongqing plant, part of Ford's joint venture Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co, is the third for Ford in China and its second in Chongqing, an industrial hub of 30 million people sprawled along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Slated for full completion by 2012,Ford said the plant would be equipped to make other small cars on the company's global C-car platform in addition to the Focus.
The Focus, scheduled to debut in January at the North American International Auto Show, represents a shift toward C-segment vehicles that Ford says it expects to account for nearly 28% of global sales by 2013.
Ford lags behind other automakers in Asia, capturing only 2% of auto sales there, compared with nearly 15% in North America and 10% in Europe.
Ford currently produces 450,000 vehicles in China annually."The new Chongqing facility will initially be able to manufacture 150,000 cars per year,with the capacity to produce 600,000 by 2012 when the plant is at full capacity,"the company said.
Ford's current plant in Chongqing makes the Ford Focus, Ford Mondeo and Ford S-MAX. Its plant in Nanjing, in eastern China, makes the Ford Fiesta.
Changan Ford Mazda Engine Co also has an engine manufacturing plant in Nanjing with an annual capacity of 350,000 units - one of the largest in China.
Ford's other partner in China, Jiangling Motors Corp, makes commercial vehicles, including the popular Ford Transit van.
Ford also says it plans to introduce four new vehicles in the Chinese market in the next three years.
Corporations hit brakes on F1 spending
Corporate invitations to this weekend's Formula One race in Singapore have slowed with recession.
Last year, tickets for hospitality suites and grandstand seats were distributed freely by many corporate sponsors. Fuelling the generosity was the hype surrounding the city's inaugural Grand Prix as well as the novelty of a night race.
This year, financial turmoil seems to evaporated that generosity. The motorrelated companies and banks that had F1 programmes in 2008 have scaled back or completely halted such activities.
Daimler, for example, is one of those scaling back its participation this year.
The German manufacturer, which makes Mercedes-Benz cars and also supplies engines to the McLaren, Brawn and Force India teams, invited 70 guests to the Paddock Club in 2008. This year,the number is nearer 30 and only business associates are on the list, while last year VIP customers were also invited.
The Paddock Club is situated in the Pit Building and is the most expensive hospitality suite available. Entry costs S$8,000 per person this year.
Daimler is also handing out fewer grandstand tickets, from about 500 in 2008 to only 120 in 2009. And while a third of last year's guests came from overseas, none have come this year.
It is the same story at Shell. The petroleum giant is the fuels partner of the Ferrari team and while Paddock Club invitations were sent out for the first Singapore Grand Prix, only tickets to Pit Straight Sky Suites are available this year.
The number of people invited is also understood to have plunged and the guests are restricted to a few Shell customers and business partners.
Among financial institutions, OCBC had booked a Paddock Club suite for about a hundred people last year but is not taking part in F1 this year.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is also much quieter. RBS is a big sponsor of the Williams F1 team and last year brought its global ambassador and former F1 champ Jackie Stewart for interviews.
But since the onset of financial crisis and after billions of pounds in losses,the bank has announced it will not be renewing the F1 sponsorship deal when it expires at the end of the 2010 season.
Some banks still entertaining corporate guests are restricting invites to their most important clients.
Just one bank seems to have bucked the trend. DBS, which wasn't involved in F1 last year, will be this year.
Race promoter Singapore GP (SGP)said almost 20 financial institutions would entertain clients at the race, about the same number as last year.
"Some banks did decrease their orders while a number significantly increased the numbers booked in 2008," said an SGP spokesman. He added that current corporate hospitality sales "are meeting our expectations for Year 2".
But it appears that those invited have generally accepted the "downgrade".
"The economic environment has not been good, so everyone is looking at cost control," said an executive of one large company."But we still want to maintain relationships so we are still doing something and although it is not at the same level as before, our partners understand the situation."
Overall, SGP called the figures both for general ticketing and corporate hospitality "extremely good compared with other circuits, for this season".
The spokesman said:"Within the context of the current economic situation,SGP's achievement is nothing short of sterling."BUSINESS TIMES
The Marina Bay Circuit is seen from a room of Swissotel The Stamford in Singapore at dusk.The Formula One Singapore Grand Prix is scheduled to run on the street course tomorrow night.
Last year, tickets for hospitality suites and grandstand seats were distributed freely by many corporate sponsors. Fuelling the generosity was the hype surrounding the city's inaugural Grand Prix as well as the novelty of a night race.
This year, financial turmoil seems to evaporated that generosity. The motorrelated companies and banks that had F1 programmes in 2008 have scaled back or completely halted such activities.
Daimler, for example, is one of those scaling back its participation this year.
The German manufacturer, which makes Mercedes-Benz cars and also supplies engines to the McLaren, Brawn and Force India teams, invited 70 guests to the Paddock Club in 2008. This year,the number is nearer 30 and only business associates are on the list, while last year VIP customers were also invited.
The Paddock Club is situated in the Pit Building and is the most expensive hospitality suite available. Entry costs S$8,000 per person this year.
Daimler is also handing out fewer grandstand tickets, from about 500 in 2008 to only 120 in 2009. And while a third of last year's guests came from overseas, none have come this year.
It is the same story at Shell. The petroleum giant is the fuels partner of the Ferrari team and while Paddock Club invitations were sent out for the first Singapore Grand Prix, only tickets to Pit Straight Sky Suites are available this year.
The number of people invited is also understood to have plunged and the guests are restricted to a few Shell customers and business partners.
Among financial institutions, OCBC had booked a Paddock Club suite for about a hundred people last year but is not taking part in F1 this year.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is also much quieter. RBS is a big sponsor of the Williams F1 team and last year brought its global ambassador and former F1 champ Jackie Stewart for interviews.
But since the onset of financial crisis and after billions of pounds in losses,the bank has announced it will not be renewing the F1 sponsorship deal when it expires at the end of the 2010 season.
Some banks still entertaining corporate guests are restricting invites to their most important clients.
Just one bank seems to have bucked the trend. DBS, which wasn't involved in F1 last year, will be this year.
Race promoter Singapore GP (SGP)said almost 20 financial institutions would entertain clients at the race, about the same number as last year.
"Some banks did decrease their orders while a number significantly increased the numbers booked in 2008," said an SGP spokesman. He added that current corporate hospitality sales "are meeting our expectations for Year 2".
But it appears that those invited have generally accepted the "downgrade".
"The economic environment has not been good, so everyone is looking at cost control," said an executive of one large company."But we still want to maintain relationships so we are still doing something and although it is not at the same level as before, our partners understand the situation."
Overall, SGP called the figures both for general ticketing and corporate hospitality "extremely good compared with other circuits, for this season".
The spokesman said:"Within the context of the current economic situation,SGP's achievement is nothing short of sterling."BUSINESS TIMES
The Marina Bay Circuit is seen from a room of Swissotel The Stamford in Singapore at dusk.The Formula One Singapore Grand Prix is scheduled to run on the street course tomorrow night.
ELECTRIC CARS HOLD KEY TO CLIMATE-CHANGE BATTLE
THE KEY TO climate change control lies in improved technology. We need to find new ways to produce and use energy, meet our food needs, transport ourselves, as well as heat and cool our homes that will allow us to cut back on oil, gas, coal, nitrogen-based fertiliser and other sources of the climate-changing greenhouse gases.
There are enough good options available to suggest that the world can accomplish the goal of controlling climate change at a reasonable cost (perhaps 1 per cent of global income per year) while enabling the world economy to continue to grow and raise living standards. One of the most exciting developments on the horizon is the new generation of electric automobiles.
In the earliest days of the sutomobile in the late 19th century, many kinds of cars competed with each other - stean, battery and internal combustion engine (ICE). The gasoline and diesel-powered internal combustion engines won with the success of the Model T, which first rolled off of the assembly line in 1908. One hundred years later, competition is again stirring.
The age of electric vehicles is upon us. The Toyota Prius, a hybrid-electric vehicle first introduced in Japan in 1997, marked an initial breakthrough. By connecting a small generator and rechargeable battery to the braking system of a standard car, the hybrid augments the normal engine with a battery-powered motor. Petrol mileage is sufficiently enhanced to make the hybrid commercially viable and fuel seving vehicles will become even more commercially viable when consumers are taxed for the carbon dioxide they emit from their vehicles.
Much more innovation is on the way, led by General Motors' plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt, at the end of 2010. While the Prius is a normal ICE automobile with a small motor, the Volt will be an electric vehicle with an engine alongside.
The Volt's battery will be a cutting-edge, high-performance lithium-ion battery, which promises a range of 65 kilometres per charge and a six-hour recharge time drawing from a normal wall socket. Based on typical driving patterns, the Volt will get so many kilometre on the battery that it will achieve around 370 kilometres per gallon of petrol!
Larry Burns, the visionary head of GM's research and development until his retirement recently, sees the electric vehicle as much more than an opportunity to save petrol, important as that is. According to Burns, the electric-vehicle age will reshape the energy grid, redefine driving patterns and generally improve the quality of life in urban areas, where most of the world's population will live and drive.
First, there will be many types of electric vehicles, including the plug-in hybrid, the all-battery vehicle, and vehicles powered by the hydrogen fuel cell, essentially a battery fed by an external source of hydrogen. These different vehicles will be able to tap into countless energy sources.
Solar, wind or nuclear power - all free of CO2 emissions - can feed the power grid that will recharge the batteries. Similarly, these renewable energy sources can be used to split water into hydrogen and hydroxylion, and then use the hydrogen to power the hydrogen fuel cell.
Second, the storage capacity of the vehicle fleet will play an important role in stabilising the power grid. Not only will battery-powered vehicles draw power from the electricity grid during recharging, but when parked, they can also feed additional power back into the grid during periods of peak demand, the automobile fleet will become part of the overall power grid, and will be managed efficiently (and remotely) to optimise the timing of recharging from and returning power to the grid.
Third, electric-powered vehicles will open up a new world of "smart" vehicles, in which sensor systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communications will enable collision protection, traffic routing and remote management of the vehicle. The integration of information technology and the vehicle's propulsion system will thereby introduce new standards of safety, convenience and maintenance.
These are visionary ideas, yet they are within technological reach. But implementing these concepts will require new forms of public-private partnership.
Automakers, utility companies, broadband providers and government road builders will each have to contribute to an integrated system. All of these sectors will require new ways of competing and cooperating with the others. The public sector will have to put forward funding to enable the new generation of vehicles to reach commercialisation through R&D outlays, consumer subsidies and support for complementary infrastructure (for example, outlets for recharging in public places).
The new age of the electric vehicle exemplifies the powerful opportunities that we can grasp as we make our way from the unsustainnable fossil-fuel age to a new age of sustainable technologies. Our climate negotiators today bicker with each other because they view the climate challenge only in negative terms: who will pay to reduce fossil-fuel use?
Yet Burns's vision for the automobile reminds us that the transition to sustainaility can bring real breakthroughs in the quality of life. This is true not only in automobiles, but also in the choice of energy systems, building designes, urban planning and food systems (remambering that food production and transport account for around one-sixth of total greenhouse gas emissions).
We need to rethink the climate challenge as an opportunity for global brain storming and cooperation on a series of technological breakthroughs to achieve sustainable develpment. By harnessing cutting-edge engineering and new kinds of public-private partnerships, we can hasten worldwide transition to sustainable technologies, with benefits for rich and poor countries alike - and thereby find the basis for global agreements on climate change that have so far proven elusive.
JEFFREY D SACHS is professor fo economics and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is also a special adviser to United Nations' secretary-general for the Millenium Development Goals.
There are enough good options available to suggest that the world can accomplish the goal of controlling climate change at a reasonable cost (perhaps 1 per cent of global income per year) while enabling the world economy to continue to grow and raise living standards. One of the most exciting developments on the horizon is the new generation of electric automobiles.
In the earliest days of the sutomobile in the late 19th century, many kinds of cars competed with each other - stean, battery and internal combustion engine (ICE). The gasoline and diesel-powered internal combustion engines won with the success of the Model T, which first rolled off of the assembly line in 1908. One hundred years later, competition is again stirring.
The age of electric vehicles is upon us. The Toyota Prius, a hybrid-electric vehicle first introduced in Japan in 1997, marked an initial breakthrough. By connecting a small generator and rechargeable battery to the braking system of a standard car, the hybrid augments the normal engine with a battery-powered motor. Petrol mileage is sufficiently enhanced to make the hybrid commercially viable and fuel seving vehicles will become even more commercially viable when consumers are taxed for the carbon dioxide they emit from their vehicles.
Much more innovation is on the way, led by General Motors' plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt, at the end of 2010. While the Prius is a normal ICE automobile with a small motor, the Volt will be an electric vehicle with an engine alongside.
The Volt's battery will be a cutting-edge, high-performance lithium-ion battery, which promises a range of 65 kilometres per charge and a six-hour recharge time drawing from a normal wall socket. Based on typical driving patterns, the Volt will get so many kilometre on the battery that it will achieve around 370 kilometres per gallon of petrol!
Larry Burns, the visionary head of GM's research and development until his retirement recently, sees the electric vehicle as much more than an opportunity to save petrol, important as that is. According to Burns, the electric-vehicle age will reshape the energy grid, redefine driving patterns and generally improve the quality of life in urban areas, where most of the world's population will live and drive.
First, there will be many types of electric vehicles, including the plug-in hybrid, the all-battery vehicle, and vehicles powered by the hydrogen fuel cell, essentially a battery fed by an external source of hydrogen. These different vehicles will be able to tap into countless energy sources.
Solar, wind or nuclear power - all free of CO2 emissions - can feed the power grid that will recharge the batteries. Similarly, these renewable energy sources can be used to split water into hydrogen and hydroxylion, and then use the hydrogen to power the hydrogen fuel cell.
Second, the storage capacity of the vehicle fleet will play an important role in stabilising the power grid. Not only will battery-powered vehicles draw power from the electricity grid during recharging, but when parked, they can also feed additional power back into the grid during periods of peak demand, the automobile fleet will become part of the overall power grid, and will be managed efficiently (and remotely) to optimise the timing of recharging from and returning power to the grid.
Third, electric-powered vehicles will open up a new world of "smart" vehicles, in which sensor systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communications will enable collision protection, traffic routing and remote management of the vehicle. The integration of information technology and the vehicle's propulsion system will thereby introduce new standards of safety, convenience and maintenance.
These are visionary ideas, yet they are within technological reach. But implementing these concepts will require new forms of public-private partnership.
Automakers, utility companies, broadband providers and government road builders will each have to contribute to an integrated system. All of these sectors will require new ways of competing and cooperating with the others. The public sector will have to put forward funding to enable the new generation of vehicles to reach commercialisation through R&D outlays, consumer subsidies and support for complementary infrastructure (for example, outlets for recharging in public places).
The new age of the electric vehicle exemplifies the powerful opportunities that we can grasp as we make our way from the unsustainnable fossil-fuel age to a new age of sustainable technologies. Our climate negotiators today bicker with each other because they view the climate challenge only in negative terms: who will pay to reduce fossil-fuel use?
Yet Burns's vision for the automobile reminds us that the transition to sustainaility can bring real breakthroughs in the quality of life. This is true not only in automobiles, but also in the choice of energy systems, building designes, urban planning and food systems (remambering that food production and transport account for around one-sixth of total greenhouse gas emissions).
We need to rethink the climate challenge as an opportunity for global brain storming and cooperation on a series of technological breakthroughs to achieve sustainable develpment. By harnessing cutting-edge engineering and new kinds of public-private partnerships, we can hasten worldwide transition to sustainable technologies, with benefits for rich and poor countries alike - and thereby find the basis for global agreements on climate change that have so far proven elusive.
JEFFREY D SACHS is professor fo economics and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is also a special adviser to United Nations' secretary-general for the Millenium Development Goals.
LAGGING BEHIND GM,FORD EXPANDS NEW PLANT IN CHINA
Ford and its Chinese partner announced yesterday they will build a third plant in China as the US automaker struggles to impreivove its weak performance in teh world's strongest market.
Ford will run the new US$490 million (Bt16 billion) plant is south western Chongqing through Changan Ford Mazda, its joint Venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile and Japan's Mazda Motor, the company said.
The plant, due to open in 2012, will produce Ford's Focus copact car with an intiial capacity for 150,000 vehicles a year, the US auto giant said.
The New facility will boost Ford's and Mazda's combined annual production capacity to 600,000 vehicles from 447,000 in China - where it is lagging behind US rival and local market leader General Motors, Ford said.
GM's partnerships and joint ventures give it a total capacity of 1.29 milion vehicles a year, including low-cost micro vans.
Ford ranks number 12 in terms of sales in China, according to analysts JD Power and Associates, lagging far behind GM, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota Motor Company - China's top four automakers by sales.
Ford sold 197,212 vehicles in the first half of the year, up 14 per cent from a year earlier but hte growht was dwarfed by GM, whic hshipped 814,442 units in the same period, up 38 per cent year on year.
China's total vehicle sales, helped by Beijing's efforts to stimulate domestic consumption, outstripped those of the United States for teh first time in Junuary - making the Asian giant the world's largest car market.
Total vehicle sales in China for the first half of the year were 6.09 million units, up 17.7 per cent year-on year, according to the China Association of Automoblie Munafacturers.
The palnt, due to open in 2012, will produce Ford's Focus compact car with an initial capacity for 150,000 vehicles a year.
Ford will run the new US$490 million (Bt16 billion) plant is south western Chongqing through Changan Ford Mazda, its joint Venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile and Japan's Mazda Motor, the company said.
The plant, due to open in 2012, will produce Ford's Focus copact car with an intiial capacity for 150,000 vehicles a year, the US auto giant said.
The New facility will boost Ford's and Mazda's combined annual production capacity to 600,000 vehicles from 447,000 in China - where it is lagging behind US rival and local market leader General Motors, Ford said.
GM's partnerships and joint ventures give it a total capacity of 1.29 milion vehicles a year, including low-cost micro vans.
Ford ranks number 12 in terms of sales in China, according to analysts JD Power and Associates, lagging far behind GM, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota Motor Company - China's top four automakers by sales.
Ford sold 197,212 vehicles in the first half of the year, up 14 per cent from a year earlier but hte growht was dwarfed by GM, whic hshipped 814,442 units in the same period, up 38 per cent year on year.
China's total vehicle sales, helped by Beijing's efforts to stimulate domestic consumption, outstripped those of the United States for teh first time in Junuary - making the Asian giant the world's largest car market.
Total vehicle sales in China for the first half of the year were 6.09 million units, up 17.7 per cent year-on year, according to the China Association of Automoblie Munafacturers.
The palnt, due to open in 2012, will produce Ford's Focus compact car with an initial capacity for 150,000 vehicles a year.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
THE EXCLUSIVE LAMBORGHINI REVENTON
Styled like a fighter jet, the opentop version of the Lamborghini Reventon will be limited to a strict production run of only 20 vehicles, with a price tag of 1.1 million euro (Bt54.4 million) excluding tax, it was announced prior to the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany.
After making its debut at the 2007 Frankfurt show, the Lamborghini Reventon roadster version is one of the stars at this year's show.
The power package is expected to be the same as in the coupe, with the Murcielago LP 670-4 SupaerVeloce delivering 653Nm of torque with 650 horsepower and acceleration from zero to 100kph in 3.4 seconds.
A pointed snout with two massive cooling vents on either side and along the flanks give the super sports car a distinctively aggressive look. The controued leather seats are separated by a huge central tunnel. Leather, Alcantara and carbon give the interior an additional exclusive touch. Two liquid-crystal displays provide all the information a driver needs.
After making its debut at the 2007 Frankfurt show, the Lamborghini Reventon roadster version is one of the stars at this year's show.
The power package is expected to be the same as in the coupe, with the Murcielago LP 670-4 SupaerVeloce delivering 653Nm of torque with 650 horsepower and acceleration from zero to 100kph in 3.4 seconds.
A pointed snout with two massive cooling vents on either side and along the flanks give the super sports car a distinctively aggressive look. The controued leather seats are separated by a huge central tunnel. Leather, Alcantara and carbon give the interior an additional exclusive touch. Two liquid-crystal displays provide all the information a driver needs.
PACIFIC MOTOR SHOW READY TO ROLL
The Pacific Motor Show will be staged in Chon Buri's Sri Racha district again next month, with the 12th annual event expected to attract 400,000 visitors to look over the products and displays of 15 auto manufacturers.
Organisers expect the show, to be held at Pacific Park Sri Racha from October 3-11, to lead to purchases worth Bt450 million.
Thirteen exhibitors will be carmakers and two motorcycle manufacturers. They are BMW, Volvo, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Isuzu, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Ford, Suzuki, Tata, Chery. AP Honda and Yamaha.
At last year's show, 433 cars and 155 motorcycles were sold.
"The show will be held under the concept 'Energy and Automobiles', aiming to exhibit various alternative vehicles, such as hybrid cars and E85-capable vehicles," said Pacific Park Group managing director Somboon Vorapanyasakul.
"During the first half of 2009, the economic slowdown and political turmoil affected consumer confidence. However, thanks to the government's stimulus measures and positive signs in the global and local economies, consumers are now regaining confidence. Moreover, the automobile industry is also picking up, as seen from the upward employment trend. Many of the employees who were laid off have returned to their jobs back."
The Pacific Motor Show has been hailed as one of the most successful shows along the Eastern Seaboard, because of its location.
Somboon expects auto companies to have strong marketing campaigns at the show, to help boost sales.
"New products from auto companies will also be a main driving force. We'll be accepting orders for the Mazda2 subcompact car even though it has not yet been officially launched in Thailand," Somboon said.
"Other highlights will include the BMW 520d, the Volvo V50, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Vigo 2.5VN Turbo and the new Mitsubishi Lander EX."
Organisers expect the show, to be held at Pacific Park Sri Racha from October 3-11, to lead to purchases worth Bt450 million.
Thirteen exhibitors will be carmakers and two motorcycle manufacturers. They are BMW, Volvo, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Isuzu, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Ford, Suzuki, Tata, Chery. AP Honda and Yamaha.
At last year's show, 433 cars and 155 motorcycles were sold.
"The show will be held under the concept 'Energy and Automobiles', aiming to exhibit various alternative vehicles, such as hybrid cars and E85-capable vehicles," said Pacific Park Group managing director Somboon Vorapanyasakul.
"During the first half of 2009, the economic slowdown and political turmoil affected consumer confidence. However, thanks to the government's stimulus measures and positive signs in the global and local economies, consumers are now regaining confidence. Moreover, the automobile industry is also picking up, as seen from the upward employment trend. Many of the employees who were laid off have returned to their jobs back."
The Pacific Motor Show has been hailed as one of the most successful shows along the Eastern Seaboard, because of its location.
Somboon expects auto companies to have strong marketing campaigns at the show, to help boost sales.
"New products from auto companies will also be a main driving force. We'll be accepting orders for the Mazda2 subcompact car even though it has not yet been officially launched in Thailand," Somboon said.
"Other highlights will include the BMW 520d, the Volvo V50, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Vigo 2.5VN Turbo and the new Mitsubishi Lander EX."
Ford set to unveil plans for third China plant: reports
Ford and its local partner will announce plans this week to build a third plant in China, where the US-based auto-maker is triving to catch up with its rivals, state media reported this week.
The new factory, in the southwestern city of Chongqing, is expected to have an initial capacity of 100,000 units a year, and this may eventually be increased to 300,000 units, the official Xinhua News Agency said without citing a source.
Ford now producess sedans, including the Focus and the Fiesta, in China through Changan Ford Mazda, a joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile and Japan's Mazda Motor.
Officials at Ford and Chongqing Changan declined to comment on the reports.
The new plant's construction will begin tomorrow, with operations likely to start by the end of next year, Chongqing Changan Automobile general manager Zhang Baolin was quoted as saying by Chinese Web portal Sina.com.
The new plant, which would add to the US gian'ts existing two in Chongqing and eastern China's Nanjing city will focus on production of high-end sedans and sport-utility vehicles, the Xinhau report said.
The two existing plants have a combined annual capacity of 447,000 units, previous reports said.
Despite the strong Chinese market, Ford's growth here has been slower than its rivals, such as General Motors (GM). Analysts say Ford does not rank among the top 10 car manufacturers in China.
It sold 197,212 vehicles in the first half of the year, up 14 per cent year on year, but the growth was dwarfed by GM, which sold 814,442 units in the same period, up 38 per cent, China's vehicle sales in January outstripped those of the United States for the first time, making the Asian giant the world's largest car market, helped by Beijing's efforts to stimulate domestic consumption.
China's first-half vehicle sales totalled 6.09 million units, up 17.7 per cent year on year, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
The new factory, in the southwestern city of Chongqing, is expected to have an initial capacity of 100,000 units a year, and this may eventually be increased to 300,000 units, the official Xinhua News Agency said without citing a source.
Ford now producess sedans, including the Focus and the Fiesta, in China through Changan Ford Mazda, a joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile and Japan's Mazda Motor.
Officials at Ford and Chongqing Changan declined to comment on the reports.
The new plant's construction will begin tomorrow, with operations likely to start by the end of next year, Chongqing Changan Automobile general manager Zhang Baolin was quoted as saying by Chinese Web portal Sina.com.
The new plant, which would add to the US gian'ts existing two in Chongqing and eastern China's Nanjing city will focus on production of high-end sedans and sport-utility vehicles, the Xinhau report said.
The two existing plants have a combined annual capacity of 447,000 units, previous reports said.
Despite the strong Chinese market, Ford's growth here has been slower than its rivals, such as General Motors (GM). Analysts say Ford does not rank among the top 10 car manufacturers in China.
It sold 197,212 vehicles in the first half of the year, up 14 per cent year on year, but the growth was dwarfed by GM, which sold 814,442 units in the same period, up 38 per cent, China's vehicle sales in January outstripped those of the United States for the first time, making the Asian giant the world's largest car market, helped by Beijing's efforts to stimulate domestic consumption.
China's first-half vehicle sales totalled 6.09 million units, up 17.7 per cent year on year, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
INDIA LURES GERMAN AUTO GROUPS
India, home of the world's cheapest car, this week urged German carmakers and auto-parts companies to pitch their world-class wares to one of the toughest and potentially biggest markerts on earth.
Managers of such brands as Audi, BMW and Bosch were warned, however, that the fast-growing class of young Indian consumers and partners were tough and wanted the best at a fair price.
Auto-makers around the world are focused on emerging markets like those in Brazil, China, India and Russia, because sales in Europe, Japan and the United States are forecast to drop again next year as government subsidies taper off.
With an average age of around 25, Indian consumers are more educated, wealtheir, tech savvy, have more choices and "are not loyal", said Indo-German Chamber of Commerce vice-president Wilfried Aulbur.
"It's a pretty difficult animal to handle," he concluded during a seminar on the country's auto sector at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Aulbur, who is also managing director and CEo of Mercedes-Benz India, told German business leaders to expect "very interesting discussions" on price and value.
India produces the world's cheapest car, the US@2,055 (Bt68,900) Tata Nano, and the country is now the 11th-largest auto producer worldwide, said India's ambassador to Germany, Sudhir Vyas.
All major auto-makers have a presence in the country of nearly 1.2 billion people, where car sales rose in July for the sixth consecutive month.
Suzuki of Japan plans to build a new Indian plant in 2011, and Volkswagen opened one in March, while estimating the market at more than 2 million vehicles by 2014.
There are now between seven and eight cars for every 1,000 people in India, compared with around one for every two people in Germany.
German and Indian cooperation has grown steadily since Mercedes and Tata first teamed up around 40 years ago, and the Nano is laden with parts from 12 German suppliers, said seminar moderator Bernhard Steinrueke.
The Nano "is a car of Indian vision and German technology," he said.
Meanwhile, Indian manufacturer Reva showed an electric car at the Frankfurt show that it plans to launch in 12 European countries next year.
The four-seater NXR has a range of 160 kilometres and solar panels in the roof and can be recharged from a domestic power supply in eight hours. It is expected to cost 12,200 euro to 14,000 euro (Bt603,000 and Bt692,000).
Eight Indian auto-parts makers also showed equipment in Frankfurt, and Ambuj Sharma, a secretary from India's Heavy Industry Department, said the country had become the auto-component centre of Asia, a region with two of the world's fastest-growing auto markets.
Sharma invited small and medium-sized enterprises, "the strength of the German automotive industry, to be a part of this growth story."
German suppliers were hammered by a global plunge in auto sales after the onset of the financial crisis a year ago.
Ambassador Vyas, meanwhile, underscored the importance of "capacity building and vocational training for the auto industry" from foreign investors as India built the sector into what it hoped would become a world leader.
Aulbur laid out the challenges for German manufacturers and stressed that "no 'one size fits all' for your customers and your business partners" on a subcontinent equal in size to the 27-member European Union.
He said that "India has the makings of a blockbuster", with sales expects to grow 10 per cent next year as the economy expands about 5.6 per cent.
Auto-sector investment should grow by 11 billion euro over the same period, said Pawan Goenka, head of the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers.
Managers of such brands as Audi, BMW and Bosch were warned, however, that the fast-growing class of young Indian consumers and partners were tough and wanted the best at a fair price.
Auto-makers around the world are focused on emerging markets like those in Brazil, China, India and Russia, because sales in Europe, Japan and the United States are forecast to drop again next year as government subsidies taper off.
With an average age of around 25, Indian consumers are more educated, wealtheir, tech savvy, have more choices and "are not loyal", said Indo-German Chamber of Commerce vice-president Wilfried Aulbur.
"It's a pretty difficult animal to handle," he concluded during a seminar on the country's auto sector at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Aulbur, who is also managing director and CEo of Mercedes-Benz India, told German business leaders to expect "very interesting discussions" on price and value.
India produces the world's cheapest car, the US@2,055 (Bt68,900) Tata Nano, and the country is now the 11th-largest auto producer worldwide, said India's ambassador to Germany, Sudhir Vyas.
All major auto-makers have a presence in the country of nearly 1.2 billion people, where car sales rose in July for the sixth consecutive month.
Suzuki of Japan plans to build a new Indian plant in 2011, and Volkswagen opened one in March, while estimating the market at more than 2 million vehicles by 2014.
There are now between seven and eight cars for every 1,000 people in India, compared with around one for every two people in Germany.
German and Indian cooperation has grown steadily since Mercedes and Tata first teamed up around 40 years ago, and the Nano is laden with parts from 12 German suppliers, said seminar moderator Bernhard Steinrueke.
The Nano "is a car of Indian vision and German technology," he said.
Meanwhile, Indian manufacturer Reva showed an electric car at the Frankfurt show that it plans to launch in 12 European countries next year.
The four-seater NXR has a range of 160 kilometres and solar panels in the roof and can be recharged from a domestic power supply in eight hours. It is expected to cost 12,200 euro to 14,000 euro (Bt603,000 and Bt692,000).
Eight Indian auto-parts makers also showed equipment in Frankfurt, and Ambuj Sharma, a secretary from India's Heavy Industry Department, said the country had become the auto-component centre of Asia, a region with two of the world's fastest-growing auto markets.
Sharma invited small and medium-sized enterprises, "the strength of the German automotive industry, to be a part of this growth story."
German suppliers were hammered by a global plunge in auto sales after the onset of the financial crisis a year ago.
Ambassador Vyas, meanwhile, underscored the importance of "capacity building and vocational training for the auto industry" from foreign investors as India built the sector into what it hoped would become a world leader.
Aulbur laid out the challenges for German manufacturers and stressed that "no 'one size fits all' for your customers and your business partners" on a subcontinent equal in size to the 27-member European Union.
He said that "India has the makings of a blockbuster", with sales expects to grow 10 per cent next year as the economy expands about 5.6 per cent.
Auto-sector investment should grow by 11 billion euro over the same period, said Pawan Goenka, head of the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers.
New perks sought for van makers
Additional measures will be put into the national automotive industry plan to facilitate its recovery from the global economic crisis, according to Vallop Tiasiri, director of the Thailand Automotive Institute.
As the country's automotive production and exports have faced serious trouble, Mr Vallop said industry operators had sought more supportive measures and incentives for the local production of vans from the Board of Investment and the Office of Industrial Promotion.
"The global economic slump has led to almost 50% excess production capacity, which affects our national automotive industry plan for 2007-11," he said."So the plan has to be altered, with new products added to absorb this excess capacity since we've heard that Japanese manufacturers are looking to invest in van production here."
Local production of pickup trucks and passenger cars, once the country's flagship exports, has shrunk by almost 50%from 1.8 million units produced last year to a projected 900,000 this year, Mr Vallop said.
He added that the excess capacity had affected vehicle producers, as well as auto-parts suppliers.
To reduce the excess capacity, he said,high-roof van production could be introduced to make use of the existing idle production lines of passenger-car and truck makers.
"The stronger yen against major currencies should also promote Japanese investment overseas. By choosing Thailand as their production base, the Japanese could also access other Asean markets," Mr Vallop said.
"Additional incentives are being studied to keep local trucks assembling plants running.
"Truck assemblers are also facing a shrinking demand. They plan to close their plants in either Thailand or Indonesia due to excess production capacity.What we are doing now is to propose more incentives to persuade them to keep their operations here and close plants elsewhere instead."
If the plants in Indonesia are closed,local truck assemblers should also gain market opportunities in Indonesia as well.
The additional incentives to support the incumbent plan, expected to be finalised in a few months, will take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of the Asean free trade agreement.
The industry's 2012-16 strategic plan,to be ready by 2011, will focus on supporting the local production of fuelefficient vehicles.
As the country's automotive production and exports have faced serious trouble, Mr Vallop said industry operators had sought more supportive measures and incentives for the local production of vans from the Board of Investment and the Office of Industrial Promotion.
"The global economic slump has led to almost 50% excess production capacity, which affects our national automotive industry plan for 2007-11," he said."So the plan has to be altered, with new products added to absorb this excess capacity since we've heard that Japanese manufacturers are looking to invest in van production here."
Local production of pickup trucks and passenger cars, once the country's flagship exports, has shrunk by almost 50%from 1.8 million units produced last year to a projected 900,000 this year, Mr Vallop said.
He added that the excess capacity had affected vehicle producers, as well as auto-parts suppliers.
To reduce the excess capacity, he said,high-roof van production could be introduced to make use of the existing idle production lines of passenger-car and truck makers.
"The stronger yen against major currencies should also promote Japanese investment overseas. By choosing Thailand as their production base, the Japanese could also access other Asean markets," Mr Vallop said.
"Additional incentives are being studied to keep local trucks assembling plants running.
"Truck assemblers are also facing a shrinking demand. They plan to close their plants in either Thailand or Indonesia due to excess production capacity.What we are doing now is to propose more incentives to persuade them to keep their operations here and close plants elsewhere instead."
If the plants in Indonesia are closed,local truck assemblers should also gain market opportunities in Indonesia as well.
The additional incentives to support the incumbent plan, expected to be finalised in a few months, will take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of the Asean free trade agreement.
The industry's 2012-16 strategic plan,to be ready by 2011, will focus on supporting the local production of fuelefficient vehicles.
Auto firms see improvement in market next year
Companies in the automotive industry expect the market to improve next year, with production capacity set to rise in the latter half of this year, according to a survey by the Office of Industrial Economics.
"The 'hamburger' crisis has affected the economy and the automotive industry in every country, which highlights the necessity of precautionary measures. However, the effects should not linger for a long time, as most have plans to cushion the impacts," said Arthit Wuthikaro, director-general of the office.
He urged companies to increase the efficiency and quality of their factories and products and improve the knowledge and skills of employees to prepare for an economic recovery.
For the 2010 fiscal year starting on October 1, the office has allocated a Bt40-million budget to finance a programme of the Thailand Automotive Institute, the Federation of Thai Industries and the association of parts-makers.
The programme aims to put the Eco Car project into action, as the products would create new opportunities for manufacturers.
Covering 52 auto companies, including parts-makers, the survey showed that small firms had been the most affected by the global economic crisis, which led to a plunge in automotive demand. They have suffered from lower orders and the rising cost of raw materials.
The survey found that 75 per cent of the 52 companies had reduced their production earlier this year, while some witnessed credit defaults and financial institutions tightened lending criteria, which led to a liquidity shortage.
Most of them, 71.2 per cent, commented that the government's measures had failed to respond to their needs, while 28.8 per cent considered the measures worked fairly.
Some 44.2 per cent of the respondents said they were severely affected by the crisis. Meanwhile, 96.4 per cent implemented emergency plans, which mostly involved a reduction in overtime payments, a cut in product prices, the extension of credit lines to customers, lay-offs and greater emphasis on the domestic market.
"The manufacturers maintain the view that they need to focus on exports and penetrate new markets," Arthit said.
The office also conducted a consumer survey in Bangkok and peripheral provinces. Covering 400 respondents, 19.7 per cent of them cited a plan to buy a car in the latter half of 2010, while only 1.3 per cent plan to buy one within the next three months.
The survey found 46.3 per cent of the respondents had no plan to buy a car at this time, while 26.5 per cent said their decision depended largely on economic conditions.
Factors affecting their decision are financial readiness, at 22.6 per cent, and the necessity of having a car as well as price, 21.2 per cent.
"The 'hamburger' crisis has affected the economy and the automotive industry in every country, which highlights the necessity of precautionary measures. However, the effects should not linger for a long time, as most have plans to cushion the impacts," said Arthit Wuthikaro, director-general of the office.
He urged companies to increase the efficiency and quality of their factories and products and improve the knowledge and skills of employees to prepare for an economic recovery.
For the 2010 fiscal year starting on October 1, the office has allocated a Bt40-million budget to finance a programme of the Thailand Automotive Institute, the Federation of Thai Industries and the association of parts-makers.
The programme aims to put the Eco Car project into action, as the products would create new opportunities for manufacturers.
Covering 52 auto companies, including parts-makers, the survey showed that small firms had been the most affected by the global economic crisis, which led to a plunge in automotive demand. They have suffered from lower orders and the rising cost of raw materials.
The survey found that 75 per cent of the 52 companies had reduced their production earlier this year, while some witnessed credit defaults and financial institutions tightened lending criteria, which led to a liquidity shortage.
Most of them, 71.2 per cent, commented that the government's measures had failed to respond to their needs, while 28.8 per cent considered the measures worked fairly.
Some 44.2 per cent of the respondents said they were severely affected by the crisis. Meanwhile, 96.4 per cent implemented emergency plans, which mostly involved a reduction in overtime payments, a cut in product prices, the extension of credit lines to customers, lay-offs and greater emphasis on the domestic market.
"The manufacturers maintain the view that they need to focus on exports and penetrate new markets," Arthit said.
The office also conducted a consumer survey in Bangkok and peripheral provinces. Covering 400 respondents, 19.7 per cent of them cited a plan to buy a car in the latter half of 2010, while only 1.3 per cent plan to buy one within the next three months.
The survey found 46.3 per cent of the respondents had no plan to buy a car at this time, while 26.5 per cent said their decision depended largely on economic conditions.
Factors affecting their decision are financial readiness, at 22.6 per cent, and the necessity of having a car as well as price, 21.2 per cent.
Goldman investment boosts Chinese firm's global hopes
Goldman Sachs'$334 million investment in Geely Automobile Holdings will boost the Chinese automaker's global ambitions, including a potential bid by its parent for Ford's Volvo brand.
Hong Kong-listed Geely also said yesterday it would issue convertible bonds and warrants to an affiliate of Goldman and will use proceeds for capital expenditure, working capital and potential acquisitions.
The addition of Goldman as a major investor could help China's 10th-largest automaker achieve its aspirations to secure global brands and technology from struggling Western rivals, said Yi Junfeng,an analyst with Changjiang Securities.
"It's a wise move for Geely as it can use the money to build up capacity and free up capital for its parent, which has publicly announced its interest in Volvo,"said Yi.
Earlier this month, Geely said that its parent, Geely Group Holdings Co,planned to bid for Sweden's Volvo which reports have valued at close to $2 billion.
Geely Group has also approached Magna International about a potential production partnership on General Motors' European brand Opel, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.
For Goldman, which could end up with 15.1% of Geely if it fully converts the bonds and warrants, the investment will give it exposure to China's fast growing auto market - the world's largest.
"We hope Goldman can help us to improve our operating efficiency, and that Goldman's network will help in our long-term development," said Geely executive director Lawrence Ang at a company shareholders' meeting for an unrelated matter.
Geely will raise a total of HK$2.59 billion (US$334 million) by issuing convertible bonds and warrants to GS Capital Partners VI Fund LP, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs.
Ang said money raised from the bond sale could be used to buy car-making plants from its privately held parent,which typically builds such plants and sells them to the listed company.
Geely, which competes against Chery Automobile and other local brands, has said it plans to nearly double its carmaking capacity to 685,000 units a year in the next few years.
Hangzhou-based Geely posted 35%sales growth in the first eight months of the year to 185,000 units. China has been one bright spot in an otherwise struggling auto industry and is on track to post record auto sales this year.
Several Chinese automakers have moved to expand their global presence through deals with cash-strapped US and European firms.
State-run Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings took a minority stake in Koenigsegg as part of the Swedish luxury carmaker's purchase of General Motors'Saab unit, while Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, a littleknown Chinese firm, plans to take over GM's Hummer brand.
The growing clout of Chinese automobile manufacturers has attracted other investors, with US billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc last year agreeing to invest $230 million for about 10% of the battery and electric car maker BYD Co Ltd.
The investment has realised a $1.8 billion paper profit for Buffett.
Hong Kong-listed Geely also said yesterday it would issue convertible bonds and warrants to an affiliate of Goldman and will use proceeds for capital expenditure, working capital and potential acquisitions.
The addition of Goldman as a major investor could help China's 10th-largest automaker achieve its aspirations to secure global brands and technology from struggling Western rivals, said Yi Junfeng,an analyst with Changjiang Securities.
"It's a wise move for Geely as it can use the money to build up capacity and free up capital for its parent, which has publicly announced its interest in Volvo,"said Yi.
Earlier this month, Geely said that its parent, Geely Group Holdings Co,planned to bid for Sweden's Volvo which reports have valued at close to $2 billion.
Geely Group has also approached Magna International about a potential production partnership on General Motors' European brand Opel, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.
For Goldman, which could end up with 15.1% of Geely if it fully converts the bonds and warrants, the investment will give it exposure to China's fast growing auto market - the world's largest.
"We hope Goldman can help us to improve our operating efficiency, and that Goldman's network will help in our long-term development," said Geely executive director Lawrence Ang at a company shareholders' meeting for an unrelated matter.
Geely will raise a total of HK$2.59 billion (US$334 million) by issuing convertible bonds and warrants to GS Capital Partners VI Fund LP, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs.
Ang said money raised from the bond sale could be used to buy car-making plants from its privately held parent,which typically builds such plants and sells them to the listed company.
Geely, which competes against Chery Automobile and other local brands, has said it plans to nearly double its carmaking capacity to 685,000 units a year in the next few years.
Hangzhou-based Geely posted 35%sales growth in the first eight months of the year to 185,000 units. China has been one bright spot in an otherwise struggling auto industry and is on track to post record auto sales this year.
Several Chinese automakers have moved to expand their global presence through deals with cash-strapped US and European firms.
State-run Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings took a minority stake in Koenigsegg as part of the Swedish luxury carmaker's purchase of General Motors'Saab unit, while Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, a littleknown Chinese firm, plans to take over GM's Hummer brand.
The growing clout of Chinese automobile manufacturers has attracted other investors, with US billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc last year agreeing to invest $230 million for about 10% of the battery and electric car maker BYD Co Ltd.
The investment has realised a $1.8 billion paper profit for Buffett.
For India, Ford thinks small
Ford Motor Co will start production of a small car in India early next year, and its chief executive said the US market had was showing signs of recovery and he expected industry sales to rise in the next two years.
The No.2 US automaker is focusing on small cars, which it feels will increasingly drive sales, and CEO Alan Mulally said the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market would play a bigger role in Ford's global sales.
"We expect the small car segment will double in the next 10 years," he said at the launch of the Figo, Ford's new small car, in the Indian capital of New Delhi."When you look at vehicle size,about 60% of the vehicles worldwide would be smaller vehicles like the new vehicle here."
The company did not disclose the Figo's price, but Mulally said Ford was not looking to directly compete with Tata Motor's Nano, the world's cheapest car at around $2,000 which hit Indian roads earlier this year.
"Right now we are going to focus on the larger portion of the (small car) market, which is the B size. So, we don't have plans to compete in the A size, or sub-B right now."
Ford will make the Figo at a plant in the southern Indian city of Chennai,which it plans to make a global production hub. The company is investing $500 million in the plant, which will have annual capacity of 200,000.
India's domestic auto market is relatively small, especially considering a population of more than 1.1 billion, with about 1.5 million passenger vehicles sold last year. It is however a fast-growing market, even in a global auto downturn.For the first four months of the 2009/10 fiscal year (April/March), domestic car sales rose nearly 10% from a year earlier.
Small cars account of nearly two-thirds of annual sales.
US auto sales fell to monthly rates not seen since the early 1980s earlier this year amid the recession, though some rebound was seen in July and August as the government's "cash for clunkers" programme lifted demand.
Mulally said there were signs of recovery and a sales pickup was expected in coming years. Ford expects total US industry sales of about 11 million in 2009, rising to 12.5 million in 2010 and to about 14.5 million in 2011.
"The fundamentals of economy coming back is the absolute key," Mulally said."It's a slower recovery and we think it's going to go with the economy."
Ford posted net losses totalling about $30 billion from 2006 through 2008. The only large US automaker not to reorganise in 2009 through a government-supported bankruptcy, Ford has said it expects to return to at least break-even in 2011.
Ford has put its loss-making Swedish car brand Volvo up for sale. Mulally said it was still in talks with potential buyers,but did not answer a question whether they would be able to wrap up a deal this year.
Last year, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to Tata Motors.
The No.2 US automaker is focusing on small cars, which it feels will increasingly drive sales, and CEO Alan Mulally said the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market would play a bigger role in Ford's global sales.
"We expect the small car segment will double in the next 10 years," he said at the launch of the Figo, Ford's new small car, in the Indian capital of New Delhi."When you look at vehicle size,about 60% of the vehicles worldwide would be smaller vehicles like the new vehicle here."
The company did not disclose the Figo's price, but Mulally said Ford was not looking to directly compete with Tata Motor's Nano, the world's cheapest car at around $2,000 which hit Indian roads earlier this year.
"Right now we are going to focus on the larger portion of the (small car) market, which is the B size. So, we don't have plans to compete in the A size, or sub-B right now."
Ford will make the Figo at a plant in the southern Indian city of Chennai,which it plans to make a global production hub. The company is investing $500 million in the plant, which will have annual capacity of 200,000.
India's domestic auto market is relatively small, especially considering a population of more than 1.1 billion, with about 1.5 million passenger vehicles sold last year. It is however a fast-growing market, even in a global auto downturn.For the first four months of the 2009/10 fiscal year (April/March), domestic car sales rose nearly 10% from a year earlier.
Small cars account of nearly two-thirds of annual sales.
US auto sales fell to monthly rates not seen since the early 1980s earlier this year amid the recession, though some rebound was seen in July and August as the government's "cash for clunkers" programme lifted demand.
Mulally said there were signs of recovery and a sales pickup was expected in coming years. Ford expects total US industry sales of about 11 million in 2009, rising to 12.5 million in 2010 and to about 14.5 million in 2011.
"The fundamentals of economy coming back is the absolute key," Mulally said."It's a slower recovery and we think it's going to go with the economy."
Ford posted net losses totalling about $30 billion from 2006 through 2008. The only large US automaker not to reorganise in 2009 through a government-supported bankruptcy, Ford has said it expects to return to at least break-even in 2011.
Ford has put its loss-making Swedish car brand Volvo up for sale. Mulally said it was still in talks with potential buyers,but did not answer a question whether they would be able to wrap up a deal this year.
Last year, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to Tata Motors.
GM recalls staff as it prepares to lift output
General Motors Co said on Tuesday that it planned to restore about 3,000 jobs at US assembly plants and related facilities and was getting set to raise North American production by up to 45% next year.
GM said it would add shifts at three assembly plants as the automaker consolidates production from plants that are closing or retooling, a process that would not add immediately to its production schedule for 2009.
But GM expects to increase North American production to about 2.8 million vehicles in 2010, up about 40 to 45%from 2009.
GM had sharply curtailed North American production around its government-guided reorganisation.
GM said it would add shifts at three US assembly plants next year, restoring 2,400 jobs, and expected to restore 600 jobs at related facilities across the United States that produce engines, transmissions, stampings and castings.
The addition of shifts at plants in Kansas, Indiana and Michigan comes at a time when US auto industry sales are thought to have hit bottom and manufacturers are raising production to restore depleted vehicle inventories.
US dealer inventories were trimmed sharply after the federal government's "cash for clunkers" programme lifted sales in July and August with incentives of up to $4,500 to turn in gas-guzzling vehicles and buy new more fuel-efficient models.
GM has been addressing severely low inventories resulting from a combination of the "clunkers" programme that ran from late July through the first three weeks of August and production cutbacks around its government-funded reorganisation.
Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of US sales, said US auto sales for GM and the industry have been slow, a situation expected with the end of the "clunkers"programme.
"Our year-over-year comps will be difficult on both the fleet and retail side,but both accounts will get better beginning in October right through the fourth quarter," LaNeve said.
GM said it would add a shift at its assembly plant in Fairfax, Kansas, in January. Fairfax will become the sole builder of the Chevrolet Malibu sedan when GM ends production in Orion,Michigan, to retool that plant for a new small car.
In April, GM plans to add a shift of heavy-duty pickup production in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company is closing its Pontiac, Michigan, plant at the end of September.
GM also plans to add production of the Chevrolet Traverse SUV at its Lansing Delta Township, Michigan, plant in April.Production of the Traverse at GM's plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will end in November, and that plant will be put on standby status.
"GM will draw from its pool of laid off workers first to fill the positions and expects virtually all of the spots to be filled by workers now on lay-off or who would be subject to lay-off once other plants are idled," executives said.
Earlier in September, GM said it expected to build 535,000 vehicles in North America in the third quarter and 655,000 in the fourth quarter, down about 20%from a year ago.
GM expects US auto industry sales of about 10.5 million vehicles in 2009, down from about 13.2 million last year. It expects US auto industry sales of 11.5 million to 12 million in 2010.
GM said it would add shifts at three assembly plants as the automaker consolidates production from plants that are closing or retooling, a process that would not add immediately to its production schedule for 2009.
But GM expects to increase North American production to about 2.8 million vehicles in 2010, up about 40 to 45%from 2009.
GM had sharply curtailed North American production around its government-guided reorganisation.
GM said it would add shifts at three US assembly plants next year, restoring 2,400 jobs, and expected to restore 600 jobs at related facilities across the United States that produce engines, transmissions, stampings and castings.
The addition of shifts at plants in Kansas, Indiana and Michigan comes at a time when US auto industry sales are thought to have hit bottom and manufacturers are raising production to restore depleted vehicle inventories.
US dealer inventories were trimmed sharply after the federal government's "cash for clunkers" programme lifted sales in July and August with incentives of up to $4,500 to turn in gas-guzzling vehicles and buy new more fuel-efficient models.
GM has been addressing severely low inventories resulting from a combination of the "clunkers" programme that ran from late July through the first three weeks of August and production cutbacks around its government-funded reorganisation.
Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of US sales, said US auto sales for GM and the industry have been slow, a situation expected with the end of the "clunkers"programme.
"Our year-over-year comps will be difficult on both the fleet and retail side,but both accounts will get better beginning in October right through the fourth quarter," LaNeve said.
GM said it would add a shift at its assembly plant in Fairfax, Kansas, in January. Fairfax will become the sole builder of the Chevrolet Malibu sedan when GM ends production in Orion,Michigan, to retool that plant for a new small car.
In April, GM plans to add a shift of heavy-duty pickup production in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company is closing its Pontiac, Michigan, plant at the end of September.
GM also plans to add production of the Chevrolet Traverse SUV at its Lansing Delta Township, Michigan, plant in April.Production of the Traverse at GM's plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will end in November, and that plant will be put on standby status.
"GM will draw from its pool of laid off workers first to fill the positions and expects virtually all of the spots to be filled by workers now on lay-off or who would be subject to lay-off once other plants are idled," executives said.
Earlier in September, GM said it expected to build 535,000 vehicles in North America in the third quarter and 655,000 in the fourth quarter, down about 20%from a year ago.
GM expects US auto industry sales of about 10.5 million vehicles in 2009, down from about 13.2 million last year. It expects US auto industry sales of 11.5 million to 12 million in 2010.
Thailand Green Move...Green Energy Green Car Showcase in Hat Yai
From the premiere seminar in Khon Kaen, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Bangkok to the closing stage in Hat Yai, Songkhla on September 18, 2009, "Thailand Green Move...Green Energy" is the road show seminar in five regions of the country by Krungthep Turakij newspaper and Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. to campaign for environmental awareness from all sectors of the society through the use of clean energy.
This final seminar was honorably opened by H.E. Thavorn Sennium, Deputy Minister of Interior, who delivered addressing speech on "Strategic Development of Southern Community". The Deputy Interior Minister pointed out the need to achieve multiple aspects of sustainability in comnuity development which the government has been continuously carrying out through a number of projects.
The seminar forum of "Hybrid Vehicle...Tomorrow's Technology Today" was joined by five panelists included Mr.Prapavuth Narkvichetr, General Manager, Product Planning and Development Department Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd., Assoc. Prof. Surachate Chutima, lecturer from the Faculty of Enginerring, King Mongkut's University of Technology, Mr.Kriengkrai Kanjanapokin, Co-Chief executive Officer, Index Creative Village PLC., Mr. Worapol Singkeawpong, Director of Thaidriver Magazine and Website, and Ms. Niramol Mateesuwakul, TV Producer of environmental-based program with Witt Sittivaekin (PhD.) as the moderator.
All five panelists agreed that by living in harmony with nature and using natural resources cleverly and carefully we can help reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released onto the environment; and that the hybrid engine is the technology for today. The technology is economical without motorists having to change their lifestyle or have their vehicle altered to suit a different type of fuel.
While 1.7 million Hybrid cars are being used worldwide; Camry Hybrid, which has been launched in Thailand for only a little longer than a month ago, has received a warm welcome from consumers.
Starting at B1.6 million, Toyota's Carmy hybrid technology effectively saves fuel and emits less carbon dioxide while attaining higher driving efficiency. It does worth the money and you can help saving the environment at the same time.
This final seminar was honorably opened by H.E. Thavorn Sennium, Deputy Minister of Interior, who delivered addressing speech on "Strategic Development of Southern Community". The Deputy Interior Minister pointed out the need to achieve multiple aspects of sustainability in comnuity development which the government has been continuously carrying out through a number of projects.
The seminar forum of "Hybrid Vehicle...Tomorrow's Technology Today" was joined by five panelists included Mr.Prapavuth Narkvichetr, General Manager, Product Planning and Development Department Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd., Assoc. Prof. Surachate Chutima, lecturer from the Faculty of Enginerring, King Mongkut's University of Technology, Mr.Kriengkrai Kanjanapokin, Co-Chief executive Officer, Index Creative Village PLC., Mr. Worapol Singkeawpong, Director of Thaidriver Magazine and Website, and Ms. Niramol Mateesuwakul, TV Producer of environmental-based program with Witt Sittivaekin (PhD.) as the moderator.
All five panelists agreed that by living in harmony with nature and using natural resources cleverly and carefully we can help reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released onto the environment; and that the hybrid engine is the technology for today. The technology is economical without motorists having to change their lifestyle or have their vehicle altered to suit a different type of fuel.
While 1.7 million Hybrid cars are being used worldwide; Camry Hybrid, which has been launched in Thailand for only a little longer than a month ago, has received a warm welcome from consumers.
Starting at B1.6 million, Toyota's Carmy hybrid technology effectively saves fuel and emits less carbon dioxide while attaining higher driving efficiency. It does worth the money and you can help saving the environment at the same time.
SETTLING FIRE-TRUCKS DISPUTE COULD PROVE EXPENSIVE FOR BMA
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) may have to shell out up to Bt1 billion to settle its dispute over fire vehicles at the International Arbitration Court in Paris.
"This is in addition to fees for lawyers and air tickets during the court's hearings," an informed source revealed yesterday.
At present, the BMA wants to annul the contract for the Bt6.69-billion purchase of fire vehicles from Austrian supplier Steyr-Daimler-Puch because the deal was mired with corruption.
The supplier has already received many instalments of the payment. Many of the fire vehicles have also been delivered to Thailand.
The purchase contract says that any dispute from the deal would have to be settled at the International Court of Arbitration.
"The BMA is consulting the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) as to whether it should bring the case to the International Court of Arbitration," the same source said.
The BMA hoped to be able to petition the Court before the end of this year.
"A committee is already established to study similar cases and to consider hiring good lawyers for this case," the source said.
As the dispute has dragged on, fire vehicles sent in from the Austrian supplier were left to gather dust at Thailand's Laem Chabang Port.
The Customs Department is now threatening to seize these vehicles and auction them off in line with applicable rules.
BMA is now talking to the Finance Ministry to request that the fire vehicles be exempted from such rules.
"This is in addition to fees for lawyers and air tickets during the court's hearings," an informed source revealed yesterday.
At present, the BMA wants to annul the contract for the Bt6.69-billion purchase of fire vehicles from Austrian supplier Steyr-Daimler-Puch because the deal was mired with corruption.
The supplier has already received many instalments of the payment. Many of the fire vehicles have also been delivered to Thailand.
The purchase contract says that any dispute from the deal would have to be settled at the International Court of Arbitration.
"The BMA is consulting the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) as to whether it should bring the case to the International Court of Arbitration," the same source said.
The BMA hoped to be able to petition the Court before the end of this year.
"A committee is already established to study similar cases and to consider hiring good lawyers for this case," the source said.
As the dispute has dragged on, fire vehicles sent in from the Austrian supplier were left to gather dust at Thailand's Laem Chabang Port.
The Customs Department is now threatening to seize these vehicles and auction them off in line with applicable rules.
BMA is now talking to the Finance Ministry to request that the fire vehicles be exempted from such rules.
Auto giants make U-turn
The "Big Three" US automakers - Ford,General Motors and Chrysler - have committed to investing an additional 31 billion baht in Thailand in anticipation of a local economic recovery,Thai policymakers say.
"Ford, General Motors Corp and Chrysler Group have expressed interest to expand their current investments by more than 10 billion baht each in Thailand," said Kiat Sittheeamorn, head of the Thailand Trade Representative office via a video conference from the United States."And US soft-drink giant CocaCola Co has also pledged to increase its local investment by an additional one billion baht."
Cargill, a major US producer of food,agricultural and industrial products, and services, wants to form ventures with Thai partners to set up a regional food distribution centre and warehouses for agricultural products. The firm would not disclose its proposed investment budget.
Mr Kiat and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva have been meeting with leading US companies and institutional investors over the past two days to promote the Thai economy.
Mr Abhisit is attending the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. Yesterday he attended a forum in New York hosted by the Thai Board of Investment.
The premier said yesterday that apart from the US automakers, Coca Cola and Cargill, several other US companies planned to increase their investments in Thailand. Some have expressed interest in infrastructure investment under the "Thailand: Investing from Strength to Strength" scheme. The government will invest about US$45 billion over the next three years to strengthen the Thai economy and to improve the country's competitiveness.
The programme will focus on agriculture, education, health care and mass-transit projects and will create at least 1.5 million jobs, according to the government.
"I am confident that the Thai economy will return to growth in the fourth quarter, with the whole year's gross domestic product contracting by 3% to 3.5% this year," said Mr Abhisit.
He said the Thai economy would undergo a V-shaped recovery.
"The Thai economy is definitely moving up, and there is yet no clear sign whether it will move in the 'W' shape,"said Mr Abhisit.
In a related development, Mr Abhisit said it was still not clear when stalled talks on a free trade agreement with the US would resume.
"The US has yet to send a signal about resuming the talks, but we prefer the talks should rather be developed on the multilateral level under the World Trade Organisation," he said.
"Ford, General Motors Corp and Chrysler Group have expressed interest to expand their current investments by more than 10 billion baht each in Thailand," said Kiat Sittheeamorn, head of the Thailand Trade Representative office via a video conference from the United States."And US soft-drink giant CocaCola Co has also pledged to increase its local investment by an additional one billion baht."
Cargill, a major US producer of food,agricultural and industrial products, and services, wants to form ventures with Thai partners to set up a regional food distribution centre and warehouses for agricultural products. The firm would not disclose its proposed investment budget.
Mr Kiat and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva have been meeting with leading US companies and institutional investors over the past two days to promote the Thai economy.
Mr Abhisit is attending the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. Yesterday he attended a forum in New York hosted by the Thai Board of Investment.
The premier said yesterday that apart from the US automakers, Coca Cola and Cargill, several other US companies planned to increase their investments in Thailand. Some have expressed interest in infrastructure investment under the "Thailand: Investing from Strength to Strength" scheme. The government will invest about US$45 billion over the next three years to strengthen the Thai economy and to improve the country's competitiveness.
The programme will focus on agriculture, education, health care and mass-transit projects and will create at least 1.5 million jobs, according to the government.
"I am confident that the Thai economy will return to growth in the fourth quarter, with the whole year's gross domestic product contracting by 3% to 3.5% this year," said Mr Abhisit.
He said the Thai economy would undergo a V-shaped recovery.
"The Thai economy is definitely moving up, and there is yet no clear sign whether it will move in the 'W' shape,"said Mr Abhisit.
In a related development, Mr Abhisit said it was still not clear when stalled talks on a free trade agreement with the US would resume.
"The US has yet to send a signal about resuming the talks, but we prefer the talks should rather be developed on the multilateral level under the World Trade Organisation," he said.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
HYUNDAI SET TO LAUNCH MINI-CAR
Hyundai seems to have the right path this year in concentrating on its premium models, with the H1 van reaping sales of more than 100 units per month.
However, the South Korean auto-maker will adopt another approach next year when it introduces the i10 mini-car.
Saritporn Sakolrak, marketing-communications and product manager at Hyundai Motor (Thailand), said as well as highly satisfactory sales of the H1, the Sonata CNG mid-sized passenger car was also selling well, because rising fuel prices were forcing customers back to vehicles capable of running an alternative fuels.
Hyundai plans to sell 1,500 vehicles in Thailand this year, a target it announced at the start of the year.
"We're expecting to achieve good results at the Thailand International Motor Expo at the end of the year. That event enables auto companies to boost sales during the final auto-buying season," he said.
Apart from its production models, Hyundai will also display a sport--utility-vehicle concept at the show.
He also said the i10 would be introduced in next year's second quarter. The mini-car is made in India and will be exported to Thailand under the Thailand-India Free Trade Agreement.
The car is available with petrol, diesel and diesel-hybrid power plants, but Hyundai has yet to decide which type it will offer in Thailand.
The auto-maker is also planning to penetrate the nichecar maeket and will introduce the Genesis Coupe in Thailand in 2011.
Hyundai presently has 20 dealerships in Thailand and plans to appoint seven more in the near future, Saritporn said.
However, the South Korean auto-maker will adopt another approach next year when it introduces the i10 mini-car.
Saritporn Sakolrak, marketing-communications and product manager at Hyundai Motor (Thailand), said as well as highly satisfactory sales of the H1, the Sonata CNG mid-sized passenger car was also selling well, because rising fuel prices were forcing customers back to vehicles capable of running an alternative fuels.
Hyundai plans to sell 1,500 vehicles in Thailand this year, a target it announced at the start of the year.
"We're expecting to achieve good results at the Thailand International Motor Expo at the end of the year. That event enables auto companies to boost sales during the final auto-buying season," he said.
Apart from its production models, Hyundai will also display a sport--utility-vehicle concept at the show.
He also said the i10 would be introduced in next year's second quarter. The mini-car is made in India and will be exported to Thailand under the Thailand-India Free Trade Agreement.
The car is available with petrol, diesel and diesel-hybrid power plants, but Hyundai has yet to decide which type it will offer in Thailand.
The auto-maker is also planning to penetrate the nichecar maeket and will introduce the Genesis Coupe in Thailand in 2011.
Hyundai presently has 20 dealerships in Thailand and plans to appoint seven more in the near future, Saritporn said.
TOYOTA MOTOR SEES SIGNS OF RECOVERY
Toyota, Thailand's largest auto company, says the automobile market is showing signs of revovery, thanks to the government's stimulus measures.
The company recently teamed up with its dealers around the country to stage roadshows to stimulate sales, said Toyota Motor Thailand senior vice president Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont.
"Compared with what we experienced in the first quarter, when the economy was hit by the global recession, the situation has improved, although not too dramatically," he said.
Vudhigorn said most of the improvement was in the passenger-car segment, while the pickup market continued to be in a state of decline, with no positive factors to spark a recovery.
He said consumer confidence had risen over the past three months, with the government's stimulus measures showing positive results across the general economy.
There were also a alarge number of new-model launches that benefited the auto market. However, the pickup market still faces negative factors such as strict approval procedures by finance companies and rising fuel prices.
"This ha caused the pickup market to fall 30 per cent in the first eight months of the year," he said. Passenger-car sales fell only 11 per cent in the same period.
Nevertheless, Toyota is presently staging marketing events in six provinces each week, which is more frequent than in the past. The activities include entertainment, palnt visits, rallies and caravans, as well as local festivities.
Vudhigorn said Toyota would raise the level of its promotions in the remaining months of the year.
Recently the company launched what it calls its "Sabay D" promotion, which includes lower installment rates starting at Bt4,953 a month over an 84-month period, lower interest rates, special offers and privileges and low 15-per-cent down payments.
The company recently teamed up with its dealers around the country to stage roadshows to stimulate sales, said Toyota Motor Thailand senior vice president Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont.
"Compared with what we experienced in the first quarter, when the economy was hit by the global recession, the situation has improved, although not too dramatically," he said.
Vudhigorn said most of the improvement was in the passenger-car segment, while the pickup market continued to be in a state of decline, with no positive factors to spark a recovery.
He said consumer confidence had risen over the past three months, with the government's stimulus measures showing positive results across the general economy.
There were also a alarge number of new-model launches that benefited the auto market. However, the pickup market still faces negative factors such as strict approval procedures by finance companies and rising fuel prices.
"This ha caused the pickup market to fall 30 per cent in the first eight months of the year," he said. Passenger-car sales fell only 11 per cent in the same period.
Nevertheless, Toyota is presently staging marketing events in six provinces each week, which is more frequent than in the past. The activities include entertainment, palnt visits, rallies and caravans, as well as local festivities.
Vudhigorn said Toyota would raise the level of its promotions in the remaining months of the year.
Recently the company launched what it calls its "Sabay D" promotion, which includes lower installment rates starting at Bt4,953 a month over an 84-month period, lower interest rates, special offers and privileges and low 15-per-cent down payments.
BKK diversifies into property
BKK Group, one of the country's leading automobile retail business operators,announced a rebranding yesterday that introduces a new corporate logo and consolidates all businesses under the group.
The group, an authorised dealer for Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Jeep/Chrysler, is also to invest billions of baht in real-estate development projects to cash in on its many potential land banks in Bangkok, said senior executives.
Timed to coincide with BKK's 17th anniversary, the 30-million-baht initiative is updating Mercedes-Benz showrooms and service centres to conform with the luxury car brand's standards. The rebranding is also introducing "For Today's Better Living" as a marketing slogan and covers investment in software and personnel development.
The rebranding is aimed at improving the group's long-term business results and will focus on total quality management (TQM) strategies, to provide a service defined by quality rather than quan-tity, said president Rienchai Likitplug.
Despite the worldwide downturn and the automotive industry slump, the group's revenue grew 5% in the first seven months this year. It expects to achieve 3 billion baht in consolidated revenue by the year-end, compared with 2.7 billion last year.
"This could largely be attributed to the high purchasing power of high-end customers and the Rienchai: Purchasing continuous devel-power still strong opment of the products and services offered to the customers in the past 17 years," said Mr Rienchai.
Under its business consolidation, BKK Group has become the holding company of several subsidiaries, including Benz BKK Co and Benz Vipavadee Co, authorised dealers of Mercedes-Benz; Siam Nissan BKK Co, the authorised dealer of Nissan; BKK Auto Mall and Leasing Co,the car financing arm; BKK Chrysler Co,the authorised dealer of Chrysler; and BKK Grand Estate Co, the developer of real estate projects.
The group no longer sells Jeep/Chrysler products but continues to provide repair and maintenance services.
BKK Group plans to develop a highrise condominium on nine rai of land opposite Bitec on Bang Na-Trat Highway.Construction will begin at the end of this year and be completed by mid-2012, said Anupong Likitpurkpaisan, the group's executive director.
"Property development is not new for the group as it earlier invested between 10 million and 100 million baht to develop a few townhouse and singlehouse projects upcountry." said Mr Anupong.
The group expects to sell 400 Mercedes-Benz and 300 Nissan vehicles this year."Since Mercedes-Benz and Nissan are due to launch many models at the end of this year, the group believes the launch could help stimulate the automobile market's growth," he said.
The group, an authorised dealer for Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Jeep/Chrysler, is also to invest billions of baht in real-estate development projects to cash in on its many potential land banks in Bangkok, said senior executives.
Timed to coincide with BKK's 17th anniversary, the 30-million-baht initiative is updating Mercedes-Benz showrooms and service centres to conform with the luxury car brand's standards. The rebranding is also introducing "For Today's Better Living" as a marketing slogan and covers investment in software and personnel development.
The rebranding is aimed at improving the group's long-term business results and will focus on total quality management (TQM) strategies, to provide a service defined by quality rather than quan-tity, said president Rienchai Likitplug.
Despite the worldwide downturn and the automotive industry slump, the group's revenue grew 5% in the first seven months this year. It expects to achieve 3 billion baht in consolidated revenue by the year-end, compared with 2.7 billion last year.
"This could largely be attributed to the high purchasing power of high-end customers and the Rienchai: Purchasing continuous devel-power still strong opment of the products and services offered to the customers in the past 17 years," said Mr Rienchai.
Under its business consolidation, BKK Group has become the holding company of several subsidiaries, including Benz BKK Co and Benz Vipavadee Co, authorised dealers of Mercedes-Benz; Siam Nissan BKK Co, the authorised dealer of Nissan; BKK Auto Mall and Leasing Co,the car financing arm; BKK Chrysler Co,the authorised dealer of Chrysler; and BKK Grand Estate Co, the developer of real estate projects.
The group no longer sells Jeep/Chrysler products but continues to provide repair and maintenance services.
BKK Group plans to develop a highrise condominium on nine rai of land opposite Bitec on Bang Na-Trat Highway.Construction will begin at the end of this year and be completed by mid-2012, said Anupong Likitpurkpaisan, the group's executive director.
"Property development is not new for the group as it earlier invested between 10 million and 100 million baht to develop a few townhouse and singlehouse projects upcountry." said Mr Anupong.
The group expects to sell 400 Mercedes-Benz and 300 Nissan vehicles this year."Since Mercedes-Benz and Nissan are due to launch many models at the end of this year, the group believes the launch could help stimulate the automobile market's growth," he said.
FANS BRAVE CROCS TO ATTEND KHAO YAI FEST
More than 50,000 visitors turned up in Khao Yai last weekend for the Honda Fund United Festival, one of the Campaigns to draw tourists back to the national park after crocodile sightings scared some away.
"Hotel operators hope they will attract more visitors thanks to the festivals," Songkran Techanarong, manager of the Bonanza Khao Yai hotel, which was the concert venue, said yesterday.
The concert was one of the events slated for Khao Yai by the Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT) in cooperation with hotels and other companies to woo tourists back.
The concert was organised by the TAT and AP Honda.
Songkran said the hotels in Khao Yai were fully occupied during the event.
Auttaphol Wannakij, director of the TAT's Nakhon Ratchasima office, said Khao Yai was usually a popular place during the rainy and cool seasons, but that some tourists had postponed their plans since crocodiles were discovered.
However, for all of this year, visitors to Khao Yai will grow 10 per cent from 1.95 million last year.
"Many tourists now want to see the crocs for the experience," he said. "Concerts hosted near the park will also help promote domestic tourism."
Jutamart Inpringkanant, manager of sales promotion for AP Honda, said the event was part of the TAT's "Isaan Tourism Year" campaign.
"Hotel operators hope they will attract more visitors thanks to the festivals," Songkran Techanarong, manager of the Bonanza Khao Yai hotel, which was the concert venue, said yesterday.
The concert was one of the events slated for Khao Yai by the Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT) in cooperation with hotels and other companies to woo tourists back.
The concert was organised by the TAT and AP Honda.
Songkran said the hotels in Khao Yai were fully occupied during the event.
Auttaphol Wannakij, director of the TAT's Nakhon Ratchasima office, said Khao Yai was usually a popular place during the rainy and cool seasons, but that some tourists had postponed their plans since crocodiles were discovered.
However, for all of this year, visitors to Khao Yai will grow 10 per cent from 1.95 million last year.
"Many tourists now want to see the crocs for the experience," he said. "Concerts hosted near the park will also help promote domestic tourism."
Jutamart Inpringkanant, manager of sales promotion for AP Honda, said the event was part of the TAT's "Isaan Tourism Year" campaign.
BKK GROUP TO SPREAD ITS WINGS
The BKK Group, parent company of the Benz BKK Group, will branch out into high-rise real-estate development by constructing a Bt1-billion apartment complex at the Bang Na intersection in Bangkok.
"We see very positive growth in the Thai market in the years to come. We'll launch our real-estate project by the end of this year. It will be our first high-rise building, and the company will be called BKK Grand Estate," said Anupon Likitpurkpaisan, BKK's executive director.
The company has previously been involved in real estate but has only constructed low-rise buildings outside of Bangkok. The new building will be 34 storeys high and most likely be accessible from the upcoming Bang Na Skytrain Station.
The company has rebranded itself using the slogan "For Today's Better Living". The rebranding was undertaken to bring the real-estate and automotive sectors under one corporate umbrella.
"With more than 17 years of experience in the luxury-car retail business, we've consistently developed products and services to ensure customer satisfaction. We'll ensure everything we do is focused on total quality-management strategies," said Anupon.
The automotive division of the company saw growth of 5 per cent in the first seven months of the year. The company expects to achieve revenues of Bt3 billion this year, up 7.14 per cent from last year's Bt2.8 billion.
More than 80 per cent of revenue is generated through sales of Mercedes-Benz and Nissan vehicles, while the rest is created through services.
The company's rebranding activities have seen investment of Bt30 |million, which included changes to hardware, showroom design and software.
The BKK Group previously focused mainly in the automotive sector by being the authorised dealer for Mercedes-Benz and Nissan. The company has two Mercedes-Benz showrooms: one in Bang Na district and the other on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, along with one Nissan dealership in Bang Na. The company also has one ID1 centre, an authorised Mercedes-Benz used-car dealership.
In the past, the company sold the Chrysler and Jeep brands, which it now services.
Anupon added that the company would most likely expand with a new Bt100-million Mercedes-Benz showroom.
"We see very positive growth in the Thai market in the years to come. We'll launch our real-estate project by the end of this year. It will be our first high-rise building, and the company will be called BKK Grand Estate," said Anupon Likitpurkpaisan, BKK's executive director.
The company has previously been involved in real estate but has only constructed low-rise buildings outside of Bangkok. The new building will be 34 storeys high and most likely be accessible from the upcoming Bang Na Skytrain Station.
The company has rebranded itself using the slogan "For Today's Better Living". The rebranding was undertaken to bring the real-estate and automotive sectors under one corporate umbrella.
"With more than 17 years of experience in the luxury-car retail business, we've consistently developed products and services to ensure customer satisfaction. We'll ensure everything we do is focused on total quality-management strategies," said Anupon.
The automotive division of the company saw growth of 5 per cent in the first seven months of the year. The company expects to achieve revenues of Bt3 billion this year, up 7.14 per cent from last year's Bt2.8 billion.
More than 80 per cent of revenue is generated through sales of Mercedes-Benz and Nissan vehicles, while the rest is created through services.
The company's rebranding activities have seen investment of Bt30 |million, which included changes to hardware, showroom design and software.
The BKK Group previously focused mainly in the automotive sector by being the authorised dealer for Mercedes-Benz and Nissan. The company has two Mercedes-Benz showrooms: one in Bang Na district and the other on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, along with one Nissan dealership in Bang Na. The company also has one ID1 centre, an authorised Mercedes-Benz used-car dealership.
In the past, the company sold the Chrysler and Jeep brands, which it now services.
Anupon added that the company would most likely expand with a new Bt100-million Mercedes-Benz showroom.
ELEGANT DIESEL BEATS PETROL SIBLINGS
The popularity of diesel-powered luxury cars has been rising in Thailand over the past several years.
German auto-maker Mercedes-Benz is one of the major brands that has been enjoying brisk sales of diesel models (the other is BMW), and its latest offering is the C 220 CDI.
The C220 CDI is priced at Bt2.85 million, which is in the same range as its direct rival, the BMW 320d SE, priced at Bt2.89 million (there's also an entry-level 320d with lower options prices at Bt2.69 million).
The highlight of the C220 CDI is the power plant, which is a fourcylinder, 16-valve turbocharged common-rail diesel engine that offers loads of torque and excellent fuel economy.
Maximum power is claimed to be 170 horsepower at 3,800rpm, while a massive 400Nm of torque is available at 2,000rpm.
The torque gives the C220 CDI exceptional acceleration. It takes 8.4 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100kph, beating the C 200 K by 0.4 second, while the top speed is claimed to be 227kph (230kph for the C200 K).
The C220 CDI's engine idles more smoothly and quietly than those in previous diesel models, and the fivespeed automatic transmission, with manual shift mode, also performs nicely.
The car accelerates effortlessly to cruising speed, where you can really enjoy the excellent fuel economy. Average fuel consumption is said to be 15 kilometres per litre (against 12.6 for the petrol-powered C 200 Kompressor).
Although the suspension of the C 220 CDI does not offer a die-hard sporty character - as does the suspension of the 320d - occupants will be pleased with the nice balance between grip and comfort.
The front three-link and rear multilink suspension features stabilisers both front and rear along with a selective damping system that adapts to various road conditions. There is also a standard Electronic Stability Programme that intervenes whenever control of the vehicle is lost.
The braking system, featuring discs all-round, is also adaptive, and comes with ABS, Brake Assist, a brake-drying function and hill-start assist.
Safety levels are high thanks to the Pre-Safe system, which prepares the vehicle for an impact when a crash risk is detected. There are eight air bags - dual adaptive in the front, two side air bags for the front occupants and another two for the rear occupants, plus two window air bags that extend from the A-pillar to the C-pillar.
Compared with the Avantgarde petrol model, the C 220 CDI may appear a little on the discreet side, with 16-inch alloy wheels instead of 17-inch rims and piano-lacquer interior wood trim instead of the sporty aluminium trim.
Nevertheless, there's a multifunctional steering wheel, chromerimmed dials (I wonder why the revcounter displays up to 6,000rpm) and a 4.5-inch display on the console that comes with a semi-sliding cover. The Comand interface makes things easier when you need to adjust settings for various systems.
Both front seats are powered, and the steering wheel position is also electrically adjustable for reach and rake.
The climate-control system, headlights and windshield wipers are fully automatic, adding to the comfort and convenience.
Since the costly imported version was launched at the end of last year, followed by the more reasonably priced locally assembled version, the C-Class has only been available with petrol engines. With diesel being offered, there's now a more attractive choice.
The C220 CDI is capable of beating its petrol-engine siblings comfortably in terms of acceleration and fuel economy. There is no question about this.
However, the problem seems to be the availability of only one trim level: it costs considerably more than the stripped-down C 200 Kompressor (Bt2.46 million), is slightly more expensive than the C 200 K with Elegance trim (Bt2.69 million) and costs Bt40,000 less than the avantgarde model.
Perhaps a choice of three trim levels for C-Class diesels (just like the petrol models) would make it easier for customers to choose the car that suits them best.
Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI
Engine: Four-cylinder 16-valve common-rail diesel
Displacement: 2,148cc
Bore and stroke: 88 x 88.3mm
Compression ratio: 17.5:1
Max power: 170hp at 3,800rpm
Max torque: 400Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: Five-speed automatic
Ratios: 3.95/2.42/1.49/0.83
Final drive ratio: 2.65:1
Fuel economy (kms/litre)
City: 10.9
Highway: 19.6
Average: 15.1
CO2 emissions: 173g/km
Performance
0 to 100kph: 8.4 seconds
Top speed: 227kph
Suspension (f/r): Threelink, coil springs, stabiliser/multilink, coil springs stabiliser
Steering: Powered rack and pinion
Turning circle: 10.8 metres
Brakes (f/r): vented discs/discs with ABS, EBD, BA
Dimensions (mm)
Length: 4,581
Width: 1,770
height: 1,444
Wheelbase: 2,760
Track (f/r): 1m541/1,544
Wheels: 16-inch alloy
Tyres: 225/50R16
Weight: 1,605kg
Fuel-tank capacity: 66 litres
Price: Bt2,859 million
Distributor: Mercedes-Benz (Thailand)
German auto-maker Mercedes-Benz is one of the major brands that has been enjoying brisk sales of diesel models (the other is BMW), and its latest offering is the C 220 CDI.
The C220 CDI is priced at Bt2.85 million, which is in the same range as its direct rival, the BMW 320d SE, priced at Bt2.89 million (there's also an entry-level 320d with lower options prices at Bt2.69 million).
The highlight of the C220 CDI is the power plant, which is a fourcylinder, 16-valve turbocharged common-rail diesel engine that offers loads of torque and excellent fuel economy.
Maximum power is claimed to be 170 horsepower at 3,800rpm, while a massive 400Nm of torque is available at 2,000rpm.
The torque gives the C220 CDI exceptional acceleration. It takes 8.4 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100kph, beating the C 200 K by 0.4 second, while the top speed is claimed to be 227kph (230kph for the C200 K).
The C220 CDI's engine idles more smoothly and quietly than those in previous diesel models, and the fivespeed automatic transmission, with manual shift mode, also performs nicely.
The car accelerates effortlessly to cruising speed, where you can really enjoy the excellent fuel economy. Average fuel consumption is said to be 15 kilometres per litre (against 12.6 for the petrol-powered C 200 Kompressor).
Although the suspension of the C 220 CDI does not offer a die-hard sporty character - as does the suspension of the 320d - occupants will be pleased with the nice balance between grip and comfort.
The front three-link and rear multilink suspension features stabilisers both front and rear along with a selective damping system that adapts to various road conditions. There is also a standard Electronic Stability Programme that intervenes whenever control of the vehicle is lost.
The braking system, featuring discs all-round, is also adaptive, and comes with ABS, Brake Assist, a brake-drying function and hill-start assist.
Safety levels are high thanks to the Pre-Safe system, which prepares the vehicle for an impact when a crash risk is detected. There are eight air bags - dual adaptive in the front, two side air bags for the front occupants and another two for the rear occupants, plus two window air bags that extend from the A-pillar to the C-pillar.
Compared with the Avantgarde petrol model, the C 220 CDI may appear a little on the discreet side, with 16-inch alloy wheels instead of 17-inch rims and piano-lacquer interior wood trim instead of the sporty aluminium trim.
Nevertheless, there's a multifunctional steering wheel, chromerimmed dials (I wonder why the revcounter displays up to 6,000rpm) and a 4.5-inch display on the console that comes with a semi-sliding cover. The Comand interface makes things easier when you need to adjust settings for various systems.
Both front seats are powered, and the steering wheel position is also electrically adjustable for reach and rake.
The climate-control system, headlights and windshield wipers are fully automatic, adding to the comfort and convenience.
Since the costly imported version was launched at the end of last year, followed by the more reasonably priced locally assembled version, the C-Class has only been available with petrol engines. With diesel being offered, there's now a more attractive choice.
The C220 CDI is capable of beating its petrol-engine siblings comfortably in terms of acceleration and fuel economy. There is no question about this.
However, the problem seems to be the availability of only one trim level: it costs considerably more than the stripped-down C 200 Kompressor (Bt2.46 million), is slightly more expensive than the C 200 K with Elegance trim (Bt2.69 million) and costs Bt40,000 less than the avantgarde model.
Perhaps a choice of three trim levels for C-Class diesels (just like the petrol models) would make it easier for customers to choose the car that suits them best.
Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI
Engine: Four-cylinder 16-valve common-rail diesel
Displacement: 2,148cc
Bore and stroke: 88 x 88.3mm
Compression ratio: 17.5:1
Max power: 170hp at 3,800rpm
Max torque: 400Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: Five-speed automatic
Ratios: 3.95/2.42/1.49/0.83
Final drive ratio: 2.65:1
Fuel economy (kms/litre)
City: 10.9
Highway: 19.6
Average: 15.1
CO2 emissions: 173g/km
Performance
0 to 100kph: 8.4 seconds
Top speed: 227kph
Suspension (f/r): Threelink, coil springs, stabiliser/multilink, coil springs stabiliser
Steering: Powered rack and pinion
Turning circle: 10.8 metres
Brakes (f/r): vented discs/discs with ABS, EBD, BA
Dimensions (mm)
Length: 4,581
Width: 1,770
height: 1,444
Wheelbase: 2,760
Track (f/r): 1m541/1,544
Wheels: 16-inch alloy
Tyres: 225/50R16
Weight: 1,605kg
Fuel-tank capacity: 66 litres
Price: Bt2,859 million
Distributor: Mercedes-Benz (Thailand)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Nissan focuses on after-sales service
Nissan Motors Thailand revamped its after-sales service by offering genuine spare parts as the first step to prepare for major changes in the near future.
The strategy aligns with Nissan's worldwide five-year plan dubbed Nissan GT 2012(G for growth and T for trust)announced last year. The plan was temporarily shelved after the automotive industry plunged into crisis as a result of global financial turmoil, said a senior executive source.
Nissan foresees competition becoming tougher toward the end of the year as local companies start introducing new models.
Nissan expects its market share to grow by double digits next year from its current 5.6% after its highly anticipated eco-friendly car goes on sale.
Nissan will be the first company to introduce an eco-car in Thailand, while five other companies are still working out the kinks in their plans.
Nissan senior executives led by president Toru Hasegawa will brief Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Oct 1 about the Japanese company's eco-car production in Thailand. The date is also meaningful because the 17% excise tax on eco-cars becomes effective.
In addition, the source said Nissan would launch other new vehicle models before 2012.
A focus on small cars is expected under its policy to shift small car production to Thailand.
The source said Nissan hoped to improve after-sales service for all models and to underline the reliability of Nissan before the eco-car debuts.
Its express service programme offers processing within 30 minutes. The service includes changing the motor oil and filter and checking the battery and other systems.
The strategy aligns with Nissan's worldwide five-year plan dubbed Nissan GT 2012(G for growth and T for trust)announced last year. The plan was temporarily shelved after the automotive industry plunged into crisis as a result of global financial turmoil, said a senior executive source.
Nissan foresees competition becoming tougher toward the end of the year as local companies start introducing new models.
Nissan expects its market share to grow by double digits next year from its current 5.6% after its highly anticipated eco-friendly car goes on sale.
Nissan will be the first company to introduce an eco-car in Thailand, while five other companies are still working out the kinks in their plans.
Nissan senior executives led by president Toru Hasegawa will brief Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Oct 1 about the Japanese company's eco-car production in Thailand. The date is also meaningful because the 17% excise tax on eco-cars becomes effective.
In addition, the source said Nissan would launch other new vehicle models before 2012.
A focus on small cars is expected under its policy to shift small car production to Thailand.
The source said Nissan hoped to improve after-sales service for all models and to underline the reliability of Nissan before the eco-car debuts.
Its express service programme offers processing within 30 minutes. The service includes changing the motor oil and filter and checking the battery and other systems.
AUTOMAKERS REHIRE AS DEMAND PICKS UP
As demand for passenger cars in both the domestic and export markets start to recover, many auto producers in Thailand are rehiring workers who have been laid-off since last year.Toyota Motor Thailand, the biggest auto-maker in the country, has also taken back a large number of workers as demand for Toyota passenger cars started to grow in May.
Starting late last year, the company axed 2,900 subcontracted workers through a voluntary retirement programme, but due to increased demand for passenger cars since May this year thanks to popularity of subcompact cars such as the Vios as well as the introduction of the Camry Hybrid midsized car, have rehired 1,000 of them.
Many of Toyota's subcontract workers who were terminated last year have not come back, prompting the company to hire 800 new workers.
"Many of the workers have been employed elsewhere while others used the compensation money to start up their own vending businesses," said an industry source.
Toyota employs about 8,000 workers at its three plants.
Isuzu, the commercial vehicle giant, also said that it has this month reintroduced a second shift at its plant after it was halted in January this year, while subcontracted workers are also being taken back.
Shigeru Wakabayashi, vice president of Tripetch Isuzu Sales Co, said there are signs of slight recovery for the pickup market, which plunged by almost 30 per cent in the first eight months.
AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT), the producer of Ford and Mazda vehicles, has also been hiring additional workers. After terminating 300 subcontract workers in late 2008 from its 3,500-man workforce, AAT started hiring additional workers. From January 2009, it has already hired 800 new workers, according to a company source. Mitsubishi Motors Thailand, after terminating 1,100 of its 4,800 workers in November and December last year, will reintroduce a second shift at its two car assembly plants and one engine plant starting at the end of this month. In January this year it eliminated the second shift due to a plunge in demand and piling stocks.
Company president Nobuyuki Murahashi said Mitsubishi is recruiting 1,300 workers who will start working in November.
"The decision comes as stock levels have been adjusted to its normal level, should the market give a recovery signal," he said in a statement.
Mitsubishi plans to introduce its new Lancer EX compact car in mid-October.
Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) said in its research that the automobile parts industry next year could recover in line with global economy. It is based on the optimistic view on the Federation of Thai Industries' automobile club's forecast that vehicle production in Thailand this year will be 940,000 units, though half-year production was only 389,000 units due to the shrinking demand in domestic and overseas markets.
Starting late last year, the company axed 2,900 subcontracted workers through a voluntary retirement programme, but due to increased demand for passenger cars since May this year thanks to popularity of subcompact cars such as the Vios as well as the introduction of the Camry Hybrid midsized car, have rehired 1,000 of them.
Many of Toyota's subcontract workers who were terminated last year have not come back, prompting the company to hire 800 new workers.
"Many of the workers have been employed elsewhere while others used the compensation money to start up their own vending businesses," said an industry source.
Toyota employs about 8,000 workers at its three plants.
Isuzu, the commercial vehicle giant, also said that it has this month reintroduced a second shift at its plant after it was halted in January this year, while subcontracted workers are also being taken back.
Shigeru Wakabayashi, vice president of Tripetch Isuzu Sales Co, said there are signs of slight recovery for the pickup market, which plunged by almost 30 per cent in the first eight months.
AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT), the producer of Ford and Mazda vehicles, has also been hiring additional workers. After terminating 300 subcontract workers in late 2008 from its 3,500-man workforce, AAT started hiring additional workers. From January 2009, it has already hired 800 new workers, according to a company source. Mitsubishi Motors Thailand, after terminating 1,100 of its 4,800 workers in November and December last year, will reintroduce a second shift at its two car assembly plants and one engine plant starting at the end of this month. In January this year it eliminated the second shift due to a plunge in demand and piling stocks.
Company president Nobuyuki Murahashi said Mitsubishi is recruiting 1,300 workers who will start working in November.
"The decision comes as stock levels have been adjusted to its normal level, should the market give a recovery signal," he said in a statement.
Mitsubishi plans to introduce its new Lancer EX compact car in mid-October.
Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) said in its research that the automobile parts industry next year could recover in line with global economy. It is based on the optimistic view on the Federation of Thai Industries' automobile club's forecast that vehicle production in Thailand this year will be 940,000 units, though half-year production was only 389,000 units due to the shrinking demand in domestic and overseas markets.
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