The theme this year is the environment and the slogan of the 31st edition of the show is Ecology: Driving, Save the Earth. This is the unrelenting message throughout the halls as Thailand seeks to position itself as a key player in the rapid and all-embracing rise of environmental consciousness in the car industry. The country is jockeying to position itself as the Asian hub of small car production through the ambitious Eco Car project, with Nissan unwrapping the new March (as the Micra is known here) as one of the shows absolute stars. Dr Prachin was the main guest of honour as two of the new models were presented to the media during the Japanese carmakers press conference today and he tried out the new city car which is fitted with a frugal engine that racks up only 120 g/km in CO2 emissions. It was available for ordering just prior to the show and 3,000 deposits were taken in the first week alone while up to today the order book stands at 4,300 units. Nissan is expecting to manufacture 90,000 units in Thailand this year of this global model which will be built at a number of key locations across the world, with 20,000 orders forecast for the Thai market. Full production capacity here, set to be achieved next year, will be 100,000 units (out of a global total of 1 million units) with around one-third being destined for local buyers. Nissan upbeat that they have a defining product. "Nissan believes that the March will be the major product that will help Nissan raise its competitiveness in Thailand and around the world, said Praphat Choeychom, deputy sales and marketing director of Nissan Motor Thailand.
The March is the first offering from the six carmakers that are taking part in the Eco Car project with Honda set to be the next to unveil its own offering. There are six automakers in the Eco Car project that could raise auto production in Thailand by 600,000 units, said Dr Prachin, Nissan is the first to launch its version and it is expected to become highly popular among Thai consumers due to its small size, as well as outstanding fuel economy and low emissions. Honda will be the next company to launch the Eco Car followed by Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Tata and Toyota, he added. Dr Prachin sees Thailand becoming the region's small car production centre with up to 2 million cars a year falling into this category being built.
There are 26 manufacturers in the halls this year, while Suzuki, Volvo, Lotus and Subaru are all back on show after skipping the last edition which fell as the recession bit into budgets. The message throughout the media day was upbeat, starting with the first press conference of the morning where Nissan rolled out the March. From there it was on to two giants of the local auto scene, Honda and Toyota, which are both looking forward to the future here. Both had a concept to show-off, Honda unveiled its New Small Concept which it says will mutate into its Eco Car due for launch next year, while Toyota presented the RiN, a futuristic urban transport project, and both like everyone here had a stylish presentation of loud music, dancers and performers. On the other side of the Toyota booth divide Lexus, which is now 20 years old, also showcased its range of cars, headlined by the bold LFA supercar, although the niche luxury brand has suffered in the downturn that has hit all prestige carmakers hard.
One booth along was Mercedes-Benz which is celebrating its ninth consecutive year as Thailands top-selling luxury car maker, and was showing off is dramatic SLS AMG-badged Gullwing sports car. Prof Dr Alexander Paufler, the President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) said, The concept for this years stand shows Brand Quality encompassing the Mercedes-Benz key elements of safety, driving pleasure and comfort. The highlights are not just the outstanding range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, but also the passion, technology and excellence, he added. In true Germanic style the black-coloured stand hosted a troupe of black leather-clad dancers as the brand was introduced and the "Gullwing" took centre stage.
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Mercedes-Benz Bangkok International Motor Show 2010 by PICO (Thailand)by TheDextor1,179 views
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