The signing reinforces Charoen Chai Group’s confidence in the Chevrolet brand and Chevrolet’s “Complete Care” commitment to provide a superior ownership experience for Chevrolet customers nationwide, the company said in a press release on Friday.

Ian Nicholls, president of GM Southeast Asia, and Chatchai Pongkapanakrai, director of CCC Auto, took part in the September 24 signing ceremony at the head office of CCC Auto, a subsidiary of Charoen Chai Group, in Ubon Ratchathani.

The 2019 A-series speakers come with adaptor kits for selected models. The kits features a variety of mounting holes that fit most car models in the market, allowing owners to easily install the speakers themselves.

“At Pioneer, we believe that everyone should have the chance to experience the best that in-car entertainment has to offer. We understand that many new car buyers desire a louder and more defined audio experience than what factory-fitted speakers can offer,” Takao Chiba, deputy general manager of product planning and marketing division, Pioneer Electronics Asia Centre, said.

“Our 2019 lineup of A-series speakers and subwoofers are not just engineered to fill that desire for a louder, more defined and dynamic audio experience, they are also made specifically to be easy to installed and fit most car models, so that drivers everywhere can enjoy the benefits of new sound technology.”

For drivers looking for more information on factory fitting and guidance on speaker choice, Pioneer has released the Pioneer CarSoundFit app, which allows users to simulate the sound quality produced by Pioneer speakers versus factory-fitted setups. Pioneer CarSoundFit is available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for most countries today.

Organisers expect a large number of Chinese bus and automotive parts manufacturers to take part this year, and there will be a China Pavilion and Taiwan Pavilion, as well as a Logistics Startup Pavilion featuring various business solutions for the digital era.

Supaman Munka, assistant managing director of TTF International, said highlights will include the Golden Dragon bus from China which will feature its 35-seater coach, 24-seater city bus, and 21-seater minibus, as well as exhibits from Hino (aluminium-body minibus) and other manufacturers.

There will also be pavilions for vehicle maintenance, auto parts and accessories.

He said top producers of GPS tracking devices such as DTC Enterprise, Shenzen Startrack Technology, Intratrade Thailand and Zulex International will also be present with their latest products and technologies.

The new company will be called “Monet” — short for “mobility network” — and will be 50.25 percent owned by Softbank, with the remainder held by Toyota.

Monet would be created by April 2019 and would have an initial capital injection of 2.0 billion yen ($17.5 million), rising eventually to 10 billion yen, said the new firm’s CEO Junichi Miyakawa.

By the second half of the next decade, the new firm would be rolling out autonomous services using Toyota’s battery electric vehicles.

“Possibilities include demand-focused just-in-time mobility services, such as meal delivery vehicles where food is prepared on the move, hospital shuttles where onboard medical examinations can be performed, mobile offices,” said the two firms in a statement.

Toyota’s president Akio Toyoda has pledged to transform the auto behemoth “from a car manufacturer to a mobility company” to face what he described as a “once-in-a-century challenge” to an industry undergoing “profound change”.

Under tycoon CEO Masayoshi Son, SoftBank, which started as a software firm, has increasingly been seen as an investment firm, ploughing funds into a broad range of companies and projects outside its core business.

In recent years it has completed deals with the likes of French robotics firm Aldebaran and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

“Softbank alone and Toyota alone cannot do everything so we should maybe team up,” said Miyakawa.

He acknowledged that rivals in the United States, China and Europe were “further down the road” but stressed: “We’re not giving up. We believe we can catch up.”

The sleek, fast and technologically-advanced Mustang delivers more athletic styling, sophisticated engine and suspension enhancements, advanced driver assistance features and more customisation options for Thai customers of the legendary sports car.

The Mustang is offered in two variants: the 5.0L V8 GT Coupe Performance Pack for Bt4,799,000 and the 2.3L EcoBoost Coupe Performance Pack for Bt3,599,000.

The Mustang is available for bookings at 19 authorised dealerships in greater Bangkok and select provinces across the country.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was guest of honour, launching the new VinFast cars at the Paris Motor Show on Tuesday.

“These cars are incredible, sleek and high-tech,” said Beckham. “It is amazing. It is so, so beautiful.

“To create something in such a short space of time is really incredible. VinFast is a miracle for Việt Nam.”

The former England football captain was joined on stage in Paris by Miss Vietnam 2018 Trần Tiểu Vy.

VinFast used the 120th Paris Motor Show to introduce to the world their new sedan and SUV models.

It’s the first time cars from Việt Nam lined up with leading brands such as Mercedes, Porche, Audi, Lamborghini and Lexus.

Speaking at the event, VinFast Chairwoman Lê Thị Thu Thuỷ said VinFast was the newest member of the Vingroup, the largest private firm in Việt Nam.

“Vingroup’s goal is to build Việt Nam’s international brand. The two cars are the first achievement on the path of realising that mission, naming on the map of the world car manufacturing industry,” she said.

More than a dream, VinFast had a seemingly impossible journey: Within just a year, it turned a swamp into the leading modern automobile manufacturing factory.

Located in coastal land Cát Hải in the northern city of Hải Phòng, the 335ha area of marsh land deserted nearly a year ago has now become a modern VinFast automobile plant with a capacity of 500,000 vehicles per year by 2025.

Journalist Paul Eisenstain from CNBC said he was extremely impressed as he visited VinFast Hải Phòng complex. “It’s huge and modern with scale no less than the modern automobile plant in the world,” he said.

VinFast’s sedan and SUV models used BMW’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines and Italian design from Pininfarina. The appearance of VinFast at the Paris Motor Show 2018 has astounded professionals in the industry and international media. Thousands of articles have been written about the vehicles, which have been developed in just over 365 days.

The names of its first two cars as LUX A2.0 for the sedan and LUX SA2.0 for the SUV were announced just one day before the Paris Motor Show 2018. However, the price has not yet been revealed.

VinFast said it was currently co-operating with leading names in Europe and America in the automotive field such as BMW, Bosch, Magna Steyr and Pininfarina, who have the best technology and experience in the world, creating LUX A2.0 and LUX SA2.0 with superior “Vietnamese identity – Italian design – German technology – international standard”.

With the goal of producing a “national car” for the Vietnamese, VinFast organised the programe “Choosing lovely car with VinFast” from the designs created by four famous Italian studios: Pininfarina, Zagato, Torino and Ital Design. The programme attracted 62,000 entries, resulting in two designs of Ital Design was voted the most.

The Paris Motor Show is one of the most important events in the motoring calendar. Also known as Mondial de l’Automobile, it was the world’s first motor show when it first opened its doors in 1898. Since 1976, it’s been held every two years.

Held in the Paris expo Porte de Versailles, the largest exhibition centre in France, the Paris Motor Show is the home turf of French manufacturers like Renault, Peugeot and Citroen, but as it’s grown in popularity it’s become a real worldwide event. Every major manufacturer shows off its wares within the show, with facelifts, all-new cars, concepts and the occasional classic car all on display.

The show opens publicly from October 1 and runs until October 16.

Apart from salmon, reindeers, exotic glassware and the region’s “matter of fact” attitude, Scandinavia also takes pride in its scenic roads and world-famous landscapes.

Last week, Mazda Sales Thailand organised the “Mazda Passion Drive to the New Horizon” caravan consisting of 10 Mazda CX-5 crossovers driving through the Nordic region, with the climax being the visit to North Cape for the spectacular Aurora Borealis.

Mazda has been organising overseas driving events for many years in a row, whether in Asean, China, Mongolia and Russia. Last year the caravan went all the way to Moscow and the new mission takes place in Scandinavia.

While a large number of Thais visit Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) during the winter for various Nordic attractions (oh, we love selfies with the snow and other landmarks), those who want to explore the countryside by driving rather than take a tour bus can avoid tricky road conditions by visiting during other parts of the year.

The event, which kicked off on September 17, was divided into two groups. I was placed in Group A and our part of the journey kicked off in Denmark, routing through Sweden, Finland and Norway, where the cars would be handed over to the Group B at North Cape.

Thanks to modern GPS technology, it is easy to drive in Europe using Google Maps, and the light traffic in Scandinavia makes it even easier. There are speed limits everywhere (generally 80-120kph), but you are able to get a good average speed because the roads are so clear. Covering 500 kilometres isn’t as exhausting as you think. And with the CX-5’s adaptive cruise control system, you also enjoy semi-autonomous features. too, taking the burden off driving long distances.

Initially Mazda had planned to use Thai-made cars and had already shipped them for this event. Unfortunately (actually fortunately), storms delayed the shipment and local left-hand-drive CX-5’s were used instead.

The vehicles came of course with European specs including heated seats (all four) and steering wheel, diesel engine and all-wheel-drive. There were navigation as well as full infotainment including four USB ports and 12V outlets that were really used by the three people assigned to each vehicle.

Group A landed in Denmark and we started driving from Copenhagen airport – just after a 10-km underwater tunnel we had crossed over to Sweden. The destination of the day was Stockholm, before taking a ferry on the following day right across the Baltic to Helsinki.

We visited Thai restaurants for lunch during the first three days and learned that there is a huge population of Thais in Scandinavia, and Thai food is highly popular here. While dinners are more exotic and pricey, many offer cheaper lunch buffets that help keep customers coming in. Thai food is hardly authentic at all the places we visited (but you might scrape through if you’re not as picky as me).

As for the local food, if you’re adventurous, try the pickled herring (I didn’t). In general food here is simple and very salty, so some of you might need to watch your sodium levels. The best meal in Scandinavia for me was a pizza Napoletana in Stockholm for lunch (thank you Google Maps) while my buddies were having the usual Euro Thai food like Panaeng Pla Salmon.

We spent the night on the ferry crossing to Helsinki (you can purchase a package for both parking and room with buffet meals), and the ferry proved to be an entertaining experience. While it’s not as luxurious as a cruise, there are attractions such as duty-free shops, bars and restaurants, as well as live entertainment.

Whenever a European asks me where I’m from, the first reaction is always: “Hey, I have been to Thailand before”. Well that happened a lot on the ferry – we even had a nice Finnish guy who started speaking northeastern Thai dialect (Esarn) to us, describing his love for our country (the guy was a trainee at the Finnish embassy and actually graduated from Khon Kaen University), and helping our group order drinks at the bar.

The ferry ride was smooth most of the way, and if I hadn’t gotten up for the toilet in the middle of the night, I wouldn’t have seen how high and aggressive the waves were. OK, it wasn’t “The Storm” size, but you know that’s more than strong winds out there.

Nevertheless the weather turned around completely once we arrived at Helsinki port the following morning. Vehicles were driven out of the ferry and the driving commenced once again.

Finland’s beautiful natural roadside scenery had the caravan stopping several times for photography. Pine trees are everywhere along with the thousands of lakes (actually over 188,000) giving the region its own signature.

We didn’t have time to check out the spa and sauna at the resort in Kuopio, and drove another 500 kilometres the following day to Rovaniemi, the official hometown of Santa Claus and the perimeter of the Arctic Circle. A large number of Asian tourists come here every year, and it couldn’t be more obvious when I spotted packs of Mama instant cup noodles on the snack shelf.

As we head up north the temperature also started to drop to a single digit, and those heated seats do come to the rescue. Arriving late, there was no time to explore what the city had to offer.

But no worries, as the highlight of the trip was near. On the fifth day, the caravan covered as much as 680 kilometres in the final leg, crossing into Norway and finishing at Honnigsvag. Towards this destination the scenery and weather gets more extreme, and the caravan gets to take several long tunnels, some measuring over 20km in length.

After covering as much as 2,700 kilometres by land and sea, we met Group B members here and it was a pity that all took the bus to North Cape rather than driving the CX-5. North Cape has a strong Thai presence as King Chulalongkorn had visited there during the 1900s. Inside the reception area of the visitor centre lies the stone on which His Majesty carved out his initials, dated 1907. There’s also a Thai museum located here, and of course a very large gift shop.

There was no guarantee that we’d see the dancing Northern Lights, and with the cloudy skies (this isn’t exactly the right time of the year for this), we had our fingers crossed. Fortunately, closer to midnight the skies started to open up and the curious Thai visitors finally found what they were looking for – the chance to take selfies with the famous Aurora Borealis.

The light show is caused by collisions between electrically charged particles released from the sun and gases in our atmosphere such as oxygen and nitrogen. Photography is difficult; you need to know the right settings and use a tripod.

As the Group B members take over the caravan the following morning for their own adventure (it snowed heavily during their shift), Group A members, completing their 2,700-kilometre drive, embark on another journey back home with beaming hearts.

The C 220 d is priced at Bt2.349 million for the Avantgarde trim, Bt2.69 million for the Exclusive trim and Bt2.89 million for the AMG Dynamic trim.

Mercedes-Benz Thailand vice president Frank Steinacher said the C-Class is the best-selling model of the brand, with 415,000 units sold worldwide last year.

The 4-cylinder diesel turbo engine develops 194 horsepower and 400Nm of torque. New features include a multi-beam LED headlight system.

Musk tweeted August 7 that he had “funding secured” to privatize the electric automaker at $420 a share, causing a brief spike in Tesla’s share price.

The SEC said Musk’s statements on Twitter were “false and misleading” and that he had never discussed the plans with company officials or potential funders.

Musk later said he later decided against the plan.

But Musk quickly rejected the SEC’s allegations on Thursday, calling the charges baseless and vowing to defend himself.

“This unjustified action by the SEC leaves me deeply saddened and disappointed,” Musk said in a statement.

“I have always taken action in the best interests of truth, transparency and investors. Integrity is the most important value in my life and the facts will show I never compromised this in any way.”

Tesla expressed support for Musk on Thursday, saying the company and the board of directors “are fully confident in Elon, his integrity, and his leadership.”

The SEC’s charges pose a potentially devastating threat to Musk’s future as an entrepreneur, as the agency is seeking fines and the return of ill-gotten gains, as well as potentially barring him from ever serving as an officer or board member of a publicly-traded company.

‘As firm as it gets’

Stephanie Avakian, the SEC’s co-director of enforcement, told reporters that Musk knew his statements lacked any basis in fact.

The Tesla CEO “had not even discussed key deal terms, including price with any potential source of funding,” she said at a news conference.

The charges were a fresh blow to the embattled silicon valley entrepreneur and his company, which has been buffeted in recent months, struggling to reach production targets.

Musk has baffled investors with emotional and seemingly erratic media appearances, including one where he appeared to smoke marijuana, and a public battle with a rescuer who helped save a group of boys trapped in a cave in Thailand.

Steven Peikin, SEC co-director of enforcement, told reporters Thursday that Tesla’s investor relations department had scrambled to contain the fallout from Musk’s tweets, falsely assuring investors the matter was effectively a done deal.

“The investor relations department told analysts that there was a quote firm offer, and that quote — the offer is as firm as it gets,” Peikin said.

Tesla’s share price closed up nearly 11 percent the day of the tweet — which caused the Nasdaq to suspend trading for an hour and a half.

The company’s fortunes on Wall Street worsened considerably Thursday, sinking about 10 percent in after-hours trading to $277.50, down 25 percent since the day of the go-private tweet.

He will report directly to Yukontorn ‘Vickie’ Wisadkosin, president of Ford Asean.

Wichit is currently deputy managing director in charge of customer service and dealership.

Ford’s sales through August increased 26 per cent to 43,578 vehicles, helping drive overall market share up 0.3 percentage points to 6.6 per cent.

Wichit has been with Ford for more than 22 years, serving in roles of increasing responsibility, including leadership positions across sales, customer service and dealer development.

He first joined Ford in 1996 as a technical service operations manager.

Wichit earned a bachelor’s degree of education science in mechanical engineering and master’s in business administration in marketing.