SMT president Minoru Amano said this was the third year for the event, and the topic for this year was “customer complaint management in sales, after sales and spare parts”.

While the top 10 Suzuki dealerships in the country were selected based on sales and after sales performances, only one received the top award and gets to keep the trophy for a year.

The Best of the Best Dealer 2018/2019 trophy went to Areemitr Autosales Co Ltd, while nine other outstanding Suzuki dealerships each took home Platinum dealer awards.

Suzuki plans to expand its dealership network to 130 in 2019. During the first six months of this year, the Japanese minicar specialist sold over 12,000 vehicles in Thailand, down 12 per cent compared to the same period last year, while the total market grew by 7 per cent.

Amano

“Dealers play an important part in strengthening the Suzuki brand in Thailand, which will help drive sales and market share in a sustainable manner,” Amano said. “Our policy is to work closely with dealers and service centres in order to create the highest level of customer satisfaction.”

Meanwhile, Suzuki has introduced an updated version of the Ciaz subcompact sedan, priced at Bt568,000. The 2019 Ciaz GL Plus comes with all-round aero kit, new audio player with 6.2-inch touchscreen and Bluetooth connection for up to five devices, and a rearview camera.

Suzuki Ciaz GL Plus

However, the job cuts are unlikely to affect Thailand where sales have been growing, according to a company source.

“Thailand should not be affected by the job cuts,” the source commented. Nissan is the fifth-ranked brand by sales in the Kingdom behind Toyota, Isuzu, Honda and Mitsubishi.

Nissan has enjoyed a 3.4 per cent growth in Thailand during the first six months of the year with sales reaching 34,577 units, thanks to the success of new models like the Terra SUV.

Globally, Nissan will also reduce the size of its product lineup by at least 10 per cent by the end of fiscal year 2022 in order to improve product competitiveness by focusing investment on global core models and strategic regional models.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2019, Nissan’s global unit sales decreased 6 per cent to 1.23 million units, while the total global industry volume decreased 6.8 per cent to 22.5 million units.

Nissan reported that during this period, it had generated an operating profit of 1.6 billion yen (Bt456 million) net revenues of 2.37 trillion yen, equivalent to an operating margin of 0.1 per cent. First quarter net income fell by 94.5 per cent to 6.4 billion yen.

It said the total global industry volume remained weak during the quarter, and Nissan’s unit sales decreased as the company continued its efforts to normalise sales. Profitability was negatively impacted by the decrease in revenue and external factors such as raw material costs, exchange rate fluctuations and investments to meet regulatory standards.

The new Pajero Sport line-up is priced at Bt1.299 million for the 2WD GT, Bt1.469 million for the 2WD Gt-Premium and Bt1.599 million for the 4WD GT-Premium. The models were previously priced at Bt1.301 million, Bt1.404 million and Bt1.544 million respectively.

The improved version has a more sophisticated design, with a higher bonnet that exhibits a deeper, more aggressive front.

The Pajero Sport, which is assembled at Mitsubishi’s Laem Chabang plant in Chon Buri, comes with a new 8-inch colour LCD meter, Smartphone-Link Display Audio (SDA) and an electrically-powered tailgate with hands-free function. The automaker says the remote-control unit is capable of sending notifications to the driver’s smartphone in situations such as when the tailgate has been left open or when the headlights have been left on.

The powered tailgate can also be opened and closed via a smartphone, while the tailgate reservation system opens or closes the tailgate automatically when the owner approaches or leaves the vehicle.

Other intelligent features include Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

A new off-road mode selector for the 4WD model improves off-road capability by adjusting engine power, transmission settings and brake power. New AC power outlet and USB input positions at the rear also provide improved usability for all passengers.

Last year, Mitsubishi sold a total of 77,000 units of the Pajero Sport globally, and the 2019 model will be launched in 90 markets worldwide, Mitsubishi said.

The Japanese automaker plans to slash more than 10,000 jobs in a cost-cutting move to address its financial problems. The company’s profits have fallen to a near-decade low, and its alliance with  automaker Renault has been under strain since the ouster and arrest of Ghosn, who also served as chairman of the French company.

Details of the job cuts  at Nissan will be announced along with the company’s first-quarter earnings results tomorrow. It will mainly target workers at  underused factories in South America, and comes on the heels of the 4,800 job cuts announced in May.  It currently has a workforce of about 139,000.

In May, Nissan forecast a 28 pe cent drop in  annual operating profit, after a 45 per cent plunge the previous year, and warned of “a difficult business environment” for the next 12 months.

The company saw declining sales in the United States, where Ghosn had pushed  aggressively for market share.

Saikawa needs to address the strained ties with Renault, which owns 43 per cent of Nissan, though the France government has said it is willing to cut its stake in Renault, to improve the relationship.

Saikawa kept his job in a vote at an annual shareholders meeting in June, though he had to fight off advisory firms urging shareholders not to reappoint him, saying that he was groomed for leadership by Ghosn.

Ghosn on the offensive

The former CEO is currently under house arrest in Tokyo, and is reportedly suing Nissan in a Dutch court for “improper termination” of his contract.

Ghosn is accusing Nissan of breaching his contract as an employee of NMBV, the  joint subsidiary based in the Netherlands, and seeking up to 15 million euros in damages.

He is awaiting trial in Japan on charges of financial misconduct. He was held in jail for over 100 days before being granted bail and fired from all his management roles.

Ghosn is accused of under-reporting millions of dollars in income at Nissan and of using company funds for personal expenses. He has denied all charges.

Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co Ltd  has refused all requests for comment on the matter.

“That has to wait till Thursday’s  announcement,” a source at Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co Ltd said.

The president of Toyota Motor Thailand Co Ltd (TMT), Michinobu Sugata, said that a total of 523,770 vehicles were sold in the country during the first half of the year.

“This is another interesting year for the automobile market to test whether the good momentum from last year can be maintained. For the first six months, due to the introduction of new models and marketing activities of various brands auto sales rose,” he said at a press conference in Bangkok on Wednesday.

He said all market segments had experienced growth, with the passenger car market rising by 8.5 per cent (206,540 units) and the commercial vehicle market growing by 6.2 per cent (317,230 units).

“The market for the first half of the year has been better than our initial expectations based on the continued strength of the Thai economy. However in June, the auto market declined year on year for the first time in 30 months,” he said.

Sugata noted that Thai consumer sentiment, because of uncertainty in the global economy, may influence the auto market during the second half of the year. He said Toyota remained confident of the 2019 target of 1 million units being sold in the Thai market, which would still be a 4 per cent decline year on year.

“We expect the Thai auto market to maintain the 1-million-unit level for the second consecutive year,” he said.

Other forecasts include sales of 387,229 passenger car units (down 3.1 per cent) and sales of 612,769 commercial vehicle units including one-ton pickup trucks and pickup passenger vehicles.

Toyota, meanwhile, plans to maintain its 2019 sales target of 330,000 vehicles for a 33 per cent market share and 4.7 per cent growth year on year. Sugata said Toyota plans to launch more new models in order to achieve its target.

During the first half of 2019, Toyota exported a total of 138,538 vehicles, down 5 per cent year on year.

“We maintain our CBU [Completely Built Up] vehicle export forecast this year at 270,000 units with a negative growth of 8 per cent compared to last year, as a result of the ongoing difficult situation in the Central and South America and Oceania regions,” he said. “As for our production, our performance will be in alignment with the local and international auto market situation. As a consequence, our 2019 total production outlook continues to be 577,000 units, a 2 per cent reduction from last year.”

During the first six months, Toyota was the top-selling brand in the market with aggregate sales of 171,502 units (20.8 per cent growth, 32.7 per cent market share), followed by pickup expert Isuzu with 89,177 units (3.3 per cent growth, 17 per cent market share) and Honda with 64,699 units (8.1 per cent growth, 12.4 per cent market share).

The company’s new streamlined organisational structure will help it thrive in an evolving and disruptive period for the automotive industry by improving its operational fitness and efficiency.

The formation of the new International Markets Group (IMG) brings together dozens of richly diverse markets including Australia and New Zealand, India, South Africa, Thailand, and a number of emerging and distributor markets. This follows the Company’s establishment and elevation of its China operations as a standalone business unit in late 2018.

Mark Ovenden was named president, IMG, effective April 1, and is based in Dearborn, Michigan with a small central office leadership team for IMG, while other members of the IMG leadership team will be based in key global markets.

One of these key global markets is Thailand, which will continue as one of the Company’s key manufacturing hubs, now under the International Markets Group. Thailand will also serve as the base for the IMG Manufacturing Operations team, the Global Trucks Enterprise Product Line Management (EPLM) team, as well as the Marketing Communications centre of excellence.

As a result of the organisational restructuring, Yukontorn “Vickie” Wisadkosin is appointed president, Asean Markets, and takes on the additional role of International Markets Group Marketing & Sales Coordination, IMG. She will remain based in Bangkok and report directly to Mark Ovenden.

In this expanded role, Yukontorn will continue to oversee the company’s operations in Asean markets including the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea and Thailand, where she will work closely with Wichit Wongwatthanakan, managing director, Ford Thailand.

She will also coordinate the Centre of Excellence for Marketing and Sales to support and serve the IMG markets in marketing communications, sales planning, revenue management and network development.

Ford also announced three new leadership appointments as part of the reorganised team.

Adjima Wannapintu is named marketing director, Ford Thailand, reporting to Wichit. Prior to this, Adjima served as product marketing manager, Asia Pacific Operations.

Nuttaporn Sukapintha is appointed marketing and sales controller, Ford Thailand, and marketing and sales business plan, International Markets Group. Nattaporn was previously finance controller, Ford Asean

Kamolchanok Prasertsom is appointed communications director, Ford Thailand and Asean Markets. Kamolchanok previously served as Ford brand and product communications director, Asia Pacific, based in Shanghai, China. Prior to that, she was communications manager, Ford Asean.

The new additions are TT Coupe 45 TFSI quattro S line priced at Bt3.299 million, TT Roadster 45 TFSI quattro S line and the 286-hp TTS Coupe.

All three new models feature quattro all-wheel-drive, dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters and various drive modes such as comfort, auto, dynamic, efficiency and individual.

Customers who place a Bt50,000 deposit for any of the three TT models at the event will enjoy a Bt50,000 top-on from Audi Thailand, along with a 1-per cent interest offer.

Audi Thailand is also offering buyers a 5-year/150,000 km Audi Protection programme warranty plus 5-year, 24-hour emergency service.

It replaced European Motor Cars Co Ltd, which had been the Peugeot distributor for the past 47 years.

The signing ceremony took place recently at the French Embassy in Bangkok, witnessed by Jacques Lapouge, the French ambassador to Thailand.

Beside Peugeot, MGC Asia is the official importer of several European luxury brands such as Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and Maserati, apart from running the dealership networks for BMW, Mini and Honda . The company also operates rental car businesses and is the importer of Azimut luxury yachts.

Peugeot Thailand CEO Joerg Breuer, said the company would launch two new models this year – the 3008 and 5008, and will introduce another six models within the next two years. The 3008 and 5008 will be formally introduced at the upcoming BIG Motor Sale 2019, to be held from August 16-25 at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (Bitec).

“Peugeot will create a new market segment in Thailand and will be positioned as ‘high-end mainstream,” he said.

He said Peugeot would build a new dealership network across the country, and is currently seeking local partners. A prototype showroom and service centre will open in Bangkok in the last quarter of the year, followed by others in Bangkok and upcountry early next year.

Villarreal, who will be based in Bangkok, has been tasked with leading GM operations is Southeast Asia following the retirement of Ian Nicholls.

Villarreal, previously managing director of GM Russia, will focus on growing the Chevrolet business and brand in Thailand and Southeast Asia, with a particular emphasis on Chevrolet’s truck and SUV.

Villarreal began his career with GM in 1990, as a manufacturing project engineer at the Ramos Arizpe Plant in Mexico. Since then, he has held various positions in Mexico as well as in the United States, including industrial engineering manager and vehicle line director. He also served as planning and programme management director for GM de Mexico.

In 2012, Villarreal joined GM Korea as vice president of Planning and Programme Management, before becoming president and managing director of GM Operations Uzbekistan in 2015. In 2017, he was appointed managing director of GM Russia.

Villarreal is a mechanical engineering graduate of Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. He has a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the same institution and is married with three children.