Limited to only 100 vehicles, the H1 Touring also features leather upholstery and 16-inch “hyper-silver” alloy wheels.

The price has been set at Bt1.349 million.

Stating only that the Leaf will be launched “within fiscal year 2018” (ending in March next year), Nissan has already exhibited its latest electric vehicle (EV) at two major motor shows – the Thailand International Motor Expo in December last year and the Bangkok International Motor Show last month.

Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co Ltd (NMT) president Antoine Barthes told Thai media at the company’s mid-term press conference yesterday that Nissan is trying to educate not only its own customers but also the general public about the EV technology and lifestyle, before the official market launch of the Leaf.

Asked whether Nissan is waiting for the right timing and market environment, Barthes agreed, saying that Nissan has been working hard in educating the public about EVs at the two motor shows. The company has received a promising response from prospective customers, he said.

He said many Thai consumers are willing to purchase an EV, even at higher retail costs than comparative models running on traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs).

“According to a regional survey on EVs by Frost and Sullivan that includes Thailand, as much as 44 per cent of Thais interviewed said they are willing to consider purchasing an EV even if the retail price is 50 per cent higher than conventional ICE vehicles,” he said.

Nissan is working hard to grow its market share in Thailand, after being knocked from the No 3 position by Mazda – a much smaller automaker that has enjoyed tremendous growth in recent years thanks to highly attractive products – in the passenger car market.

But after being lambasted by Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi chairman Carlos Ghosn during a visit to Thailand in April last year as being “not good enough” in its performance, NMT lost little time in clawing back 1.3 percentage points of market share to finish 2017 with a 6.9 per cent share.

Barthes said that in the mid term, Nissan wants to raise its market share to figures in the double digits.

Significant growth is expected later this year with the planned introduction of the Terra, a PPV (pickup passenger vehicle) based on the Navara 1-ton pickup truck. Nissan and Mazda were the only major pickup producers in Thailand to not offer a PPV model, and over the years its executives had always denied any plans to build one.

But the Terra project has finally come to life, with the PPV launched in China this year. Thailand, already the global production centre of the Navara, automatically qualifies as a production and export site of the Terra.

Production of the Terra is expected to help drive up Nissan’s total output in Thailand. Barthes said Nissan will increase its production in Thailand this year by 23 per cent, but did not specify from which model range.

Barthes said Nissan expects the Thai auto market to grow at an average of 5 per cent a year over the next five years, with 950,000 vehicles to be sold in fiscal 2018 (April 2018 to March 2019).

The BMW Certified Body and Paint Centre at Barcelona Motor Bang Khae is equipped with 22 mechanical bays including four heavy-duty bays (body repairs), 11 light-duty bays, three assembly bays, four polishing bays, and three spray booths using the water-based BMW ColorSystem paint.

With more than 20 years in the business, Barcelona Motor is now operating 3 BMW showrooms and one-stop service centers in Vibhavadi Rangsit, Bang Khae, and Chiang Mai, as well as 3 BMW Studios in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mahachai, Samut Sakhon. The latest facility in Bangkok offers extensive services to cater to every customer’s needs, ranging from fast and convenient services from certified mechanics, repair stations that can support up to 300 vehicles per month, reliable services using original BMW Parts, to a slide-on tow service in emergencies and a courtesy car while waiting for repairs to be completed.

Comprising  five legs to be held in Chiang Mai (May 19-20), Buri Ram (June 29-July 1 and October 26-28), Chon Buri (July 13-15) and Phuket (September 22-23), the event will feature motor racing as well as various entertainments aimed at attracting big crowds, including potential Toyota customers.

Visitors to the event will be greeted by the Live Alive Cafe featuring a collection of Toyota technologies, and have the chance to walk around the track and into the pit, allowing them to closely check out racing cars.

The racing events include one-make races for the Hilux Revo, Corolla Altis and Vios (with male and female categories).

At the end of the year, the top two drivers in the standings of the Corolla Altis event will be sponsored to participate in the Netz Cup at the Fuji Speedway in Japan, which is a Toyota Vitz one-make race.

There are currently 12 entries for the Revo, 14 for the Altis, 24 for the Vios and 13 for the Vios Lady, according to organisers TRD Thailand.

Michinobu Sugata, president of Toyota Motor Thailand Co Ltd, said Japanese car company has been involved in Thai motorsports since 1986.

Throughout 31 years, Toyota has taken an active part in advancing Thai motorsports in Thailand, and has been deeply committed to supporting this country’s motorsports in an attempt to develop the racers’ skills along with the automotive industry.

“This year, Toyota heralds a new era in motorsport activities in Thailand with the aim to deliver more excitement – both in the form of a professional racing series that participants are able to [watch] exceptional performances by Toyota vehicles, and [through] an array of enjoyable activities that allow higher engagement in our motorsports.”

This year Toyota is highlighting its C-HR model and will feature two activities at the Toyota Motorsports 2018 events. They include the Live Alive C-HR Show and C-HR Test Drive Run on Track, the latter allowing Toyota customers to experience riding in the circuits where the races are held.

Other attractions include the Hilux Revo Drift Show and the Toyota Team Thailand Show, with top drivers performing colourful stunts.

“Due to the tremendous success of the Toyota Motorsports project in Thailand, Toyota distributors in neighbouring Asian countries have started to duplicate our activities,” Sugata said. “For example, Toyota Motor Philippines initiated its Vios Cup One Make Race in 2014. On top of that, Malaysia staged a One Make Race just last year in the name of the Vios Challenge.”

Sugata said that in the near future, hybrid vehicles (such as the C-HR Hybrid) could make their entry into the Toyota Motorsport races.

Another important event for Toyota Thailand is Germany’s annual Nurburgring 24-hour race, to which it is sending a team of two Corolla Altis ESport cars to compete for the fifth consecutive year.

The firm said GM Grandmasters rewards GM’s “best of the best” dealers in Southeast Asia for their excellence in serving Chevrolet customers across sales, services and after-sales.

Participants included the highest-performing dealers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Regional president Ian Nicholls said: “Our dealer partners are critical to our success. Thanks to their outstanding contributions and hard work, we grew our sales in Southeast Asia by 16 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016. In Thailand, our retail sales grew by 26 per cent, driven by outstanding Colorado pickup truck growth.”

During the dealers had the opportunity to test drive the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Silverado through the deserts of Dubai.

Ford had announced Tuesday the fire had halted production of its best-selling F-150 light duty truck across three factories, idling some 7,600 workers.

The blaze occurred at the Meridian Magnesium Die Casting factory in western Michigan last week.

Ford said it was working with its supply base to offset the impact, adding that it did not expect its yearly-profit forecast to be affected.

“The automotive industry is heavily connected through the supply base,” said Charlie Chesbrough, chief economist for Cox Automotive.

“A major disruption could not come at a worse time for Ford — 70,000 sales each month are at stake,” he said.

Fiat-Chrysler meanwhile said production of its Pacifica model at an assembly plant in Windsor, Canada had been impacted as a result of the fire at Meridian but did not indicate any workers were being idled.

GM has temporarily halted production of its full-size vans at an assembly plant in Missouri, spokeswoman Kimberly Carpenter said in an email.

The news, announced on a telephone conference, will temporarily close an assembly plant near Dearborn, Michigan. The plant employs around 4,000 workers who will be on mandatory layoff.

Earlier this week, the US automaker said another 3,600 workers at its F-150 facility in Kansas City, Missouri were being laid off.

Ford says it is short on some important parts to manufacture the popular vehicle, after the explosion a week ago at its supplier Meridian Lightweight Technologies, whose main shareholder since 2013 is the Chinese group Wanfeng Auto Holdings.

Dealers, however, still have inventory.

The F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in the United States, and the engine of Ford’s profits.

Daimler said the introduction of the FJ 2528C demonstrates its commitment to serve and meet the demands of the market, while complementing its current OneStopSolutions.

“This new fuel-efficient and safe truck is the improved successor of our FN62 Dump Truck and shows our clear leadership in the Thai construction sector.

“The truck is capable of very heavy construction work with 280 horsepower and a carrying capacity of 13 tons. This great quality, high endurance truck, is one of the necessities of any construction business, and can help reduce operational and maintenance costs thus boosting potential profits,” said Sascha Ricanek, CEO of DCVT.

He said Fuso construction trucks are popular among leading Thai and international companies in the logistics and construction sectors, with an array of safety features including ABS braking.