Thai-made Mazda 2 exports ready to start: Free trade pacts help sales outlook

Mazda Motor Corporation hopes the new Mazda 2 will help the brand flourish and increase sales in Asean.

The Mazda 2 will be shipped to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia to cash in on the lower tariffs under Asean Free Trade Area and the free trade agreement between Thailand and Australia.

Singapore is excluded from the export list because the cars are brought into the island from Japan.

Mazda Sales Thailand had taken 800 presale orders by last Thursday. Most dealers placed more orders than forecast after their first glimpse and test drive of the car at a meeting of Thai, Asean and Australian dealers last week.An executive described the Mazda brand as very low profile in these three markets, with rather sluggish sales.

Mazda Motor Corp established Mazda Indonesia as its dealer to cover sales in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. In these three Asean countries and Thailand, Mazda accounts for 2 percent of total vehicle sales in Asean. Mazda aims to raise its share to 5 percent in the Asean market next year through the launch of the Mazda 2.

"Mazda has never done aggressive marketing in Asean market as very few models are distributed there. It hopes Mazda 2 will be its flagship model to penetrate the regional market," said an industry source.

Sureetip La-Ongthong, marketing director of Mazda Sales Thailand, said the Mazda 2 had been one of the most highly anticipated cars in recent years.

"Consumers in Thailand have been creating a buzz about Mazda 2 for its design, sleek image and sporty elements to its performance and 51 awards it has garnered from around the world included World Car of the Year in 2008," she said.

Mazda will officially introduce Mazda 2 tomorrow and customers who have already booked the vehicle can receive it right away.

"As we opened for reservations before the official launch, in only one week we have seen more than 500 bookings and expect to see more than 1,000 before the launch day," she said.

Weerasak Laohawee, president of the Mazda Dealer Association, said dealers were confident that the Mazda 2 would get a good response, creating a big chance for dealers to record their highest-ever sales.

The Mazda 2 with a 1.5-litre gasoline engine and E20 fuel compatible is priced from 535,000 to 690,000 baht.

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