MAZDA2 TO BOOST ASEAN SHARE

       Mazda Motor Corp hopes to double its regional market share to 2 per cent, as the company plans to sell 20,000 units of the Mazda2 within Asean in the first year of production.
       Mazda currently has a 1-per-cent market share in Asean, but hopes to increase this to 4-5 per cent within the next five years.
       The statement was made yesterday as the first Mazda2 subcompact (B segment) car rolled off the production line at the Auto Alliance Plant in Rayong.
       The Mazda2, whose official Thai launch will be on November 17, will be the company's second passenger car on sale in the Kingdom.
       The Mazda2 will also be launched in Indonesia next month, in the Phillipines in December and in Malaysia next March.
       "The B segment is the fastest-growing segment in Asean. We expect the total B segment to reach 340,000 units in the region. The Mazda2 is aimed at young, energetic customers who are auto enthusiasts, and we have already sold 362,000 units worldwide. We currently have a very small share in the local market and we see plenty of room for growth," said Yuji Nakamine, managing executive officer at Mazda Motor Corp.
       Mazda sells 1.15 million vehicles worldwide, of which the Asean market accounts for less than 2 per cent.
       The Mazda2 will be a major product for the Japanese auto-maker in the Thai market as it moves deeper into the passenger-car segment.
       Nakamine said Mazda was a "challenger brand", in the sense that it is not as large as Toyota and Honda and requires unique products to attract customers.
       "We have already attracted 7,000 registered prospective customers [for the Mazda2] on our website after three weeks. We plan a 10-per-cent market share in the B segment over the lifetime of the car. We're not going to compete on price, but rather on having a special product that customers want to drive due to the zoom-zoom appeal," said John Ray, managing director of Mazda Sales Thailand.
       The Mazda2 will be manufactured on the same production line as the Ford Fiesta, which will be launched next year. The company has a production capacity of 50,000 units for the Mazda2 at the plant.
       Nakamine added that there are plans to export the Mazda2 beyond Asean, especially to Australia, within the next year. The current Mazda2 sold in Australia is imported from Japan.
       "The Thai market seems to be recovering from the crisis and beginning its upward trend. We expect total auto sales for the Thai automotive market to reach 500,000-520,000 units this year," said Ray.