Nissan announced that it will launch the model in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. The company is also exploring introducing the zero-emission car in other markets in the region, including Indonesia and the Philippines.

Nissan regional senior vice president Yutaka Sanada said the company is working to bring the new generation of the world’s best-selling electric vehicle to as many markets as possible.

“The new Nissan Leaf is the most advanced, yet accessible 100 per cent electric vehicle on the planet,” Sanada said. “This ingenuous car will make you feel more confident, more excited, more connected than any other mainstream electric vehicle.

“The launch in so many markets shows our commitment to playing a leading role in electrification in this dynamic region, and to delivering the future of mobility to the region now.”

The announcement was made at Nissan Futures, a gathering in Singapore of industry leaders, government officials and media from across Asia and Oceania. The three-day event is bringing together influential speakers to discuss how to create a sustainable future through vehicle electrification, and how to make advanced driving technologies more accessible, under the theme “The Future of Mobility – Electrification and Beyond.”

Strong underlying demand suggests that the market for electric vehicles has the potential to grow exponentially in Southeast Asia, according to research released by Frost & Sullivan.

Nissan has sold more than 300,000 Leafs globally since the model first went on sale in 2010.

“Siam Delightful Chinese New Year” is aimed at attracting both Thai and international shoppers to experience all the excitement during the New Year period throughout the “One Siam” area.

With over 999 Chinese lanterns, imported gorgeous performances from China, and auspicious events, as well as promotions and special prizes for the New Year, the campaign runs from today until March 11, Siam Piwat senior executive vice president-marketing Mayuree Chaipromprasith said on Monday.

The ninth model based on the Harley-Davidson Softail platform and the latest in a line of 100 high-impact motorcycles the company plans to introduce by 2027, the Sport Glide is said to present “an engaging combination of technology and style”.

The Sport Glide is now available in three solid colours – “vivid black”, “twisted cherry” and “silver fortune” – at all dealerships in Thailand. Prices start at Bt1.399 million.

“Harley-Davidson sees potential in the Asean market,” Johan Kleinsteuber, managing director of Harley-Davidson Asia emerging markets, said.

“With a huge increase in demand for big motorcycles in Southeast Asia over recent years, Harley-Davidson is committed to bringing the spirit of freedom, individuality and brotherhood to riders in Thailand, and continuously developing unrivaled and appealing products to provide extraordinary experiences for a new generation of motorcycle enthusiasts.”

“We are thrilled that the Sport Glide has arrived in Thailand for the first time. It is suitable for both commuting and light touring, which makes it perfect for the country,” Thanabodee Kulthol, market operations lead for Harley-Davidson Thailand said.

“We continue to strengthen our presence in Thailand as we offer a wide range of products to meet all our customers’ needs and bring the brand closer to fans here with nine dealerships nationwide and an upcoming assembly facility.”

Maserati will work with a team drawn from across Accenture Interactive, including data-driven marketing, digital delivery and creative services from its creative agency, Karmarama.

“Progressive businesses like Maserati recognize that experience is the new battleground, with customers expecting integrated, human-centered experiences both digitally and in the real world,” said Nontawat Poomchusri, country managing director and financial services lead, Accenture in Thailand.

“The mandate from Maserati is clear: to use digital to help drive sales and at the same time build premium brand equity. We’re here to design a comprehensive marketing strategy designed to achieve both of these targets in a connected way, seeking the most creative and enduring customer experiences through the combination of data, content and innovative marketing technologies.”

The seminar topic, “Create competitiveness with just-in-time manufacturing for Industry 4.0” was part of a Thai automotive industry project to increase the competitiveness of the auto-parts manufacturers through “just-in-time” (JIT) manufacturing.

The project is supported by the Bureau of Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Industry, with the objective to increase competitiveness of auto parts manufacturers.

While Honda created much fanfare with the introduction of the diesel-powered CR-V, many forget that over the years it is the petrol version that has put the CR-V in its prime position today.

Many also don’t realise that CR-V is the abbreviation for “Comfortable Runabout Vehicle” and that the first CR-V’s exterior design was based on trekking shoes that became a big hit in the 90s.

I drove the diesel CR-V last year and although I wasn’t fully impressed with the Japanese diesel technology (compared to upmarket European brands), the package offered was the best available in the market.

In fact the CR-V, now in its fifth generation, is also an important contributor to Honda maintaining the passenger car crown in Thailand for the third year. That is, if you include the CR-V as a passenger car like Honda has done, and not as a commercial vehicle like Toyota Motor Thailand, which also claims to be the passenger car market leader.

In my point of view, it would be funny to classify the CR-V as a commercial vehicle as no one purchases it and uses it for commerce (like a pickup truck). Anyway that’s the conflict of interest between the top two passenger carmakers from Japan that needs to be sorted out sooner or later.

Realising that I still haven’t driven the petrol CR-V, I was in luck as the test drive car from Honda Automobile (Thailand) was still available. Apart from the two diesel variants, there are also two petrol variants priced at Bt1.399 million for the front-wheel-drive 2.4E and Bt1.549 million for the all-wheel-drive 2.4 EL 4WD, which I got.

The fifth-generation CR-V boasts greater styling features than its predecessors, particularly the sharp-lined front grille. It features LED headlights and tail lights, daytime running lights and sporty 18-inch alloy wheels with comfy 235/60 tires.

The interior of the CR-V is always good, and the new model is no exception. Good material selection (I like the piano black trim) gives it a luxurious feel while the large interior space gives you an open atmosphere. Interior comfort is at its best here, with low engine and wind noise too.

The leather-upholstered seats are comfortable and provide plenty of back support (in fact a little too much). There are third-row seats, giving the CR-V a capacity of seven people. Just fold the third-row seat backrests to create a flat cargo floor. Need more space? Fold the second row seat backrests too.

The tailgate is fully automatic. Apart from opening and closing by a button, there is also gesture control. Just move your foot across below the rear bumper and the tailgate performs the “open sesame” ritual. You can also programme the opening height to match the surroundings, especially in low-ceiling garages.

The infotainment system features Apple CarPlay compatibility and 7-inch touchscreen.

Honda offers a wide range of vehicles with E85 compatibility and the CR-V I is one of them. The 2.4-litre i-VTEC engine develops 173 horsepower and 224Nm of torque.

While the diesel engine sound isn’t particularly appealing, the i-VTEC engine gives you back that usual Honda feeling. The 4-cylnder engine revs smoothly without much vibration being felt in the cabin, and gets the 1,670-kilogram CR-V moving swiftly on the highway.

With E85, the fuel consumption may be higher than with E10 and E20 but the price difference helps balance it out.

The sporty steering wheel provides a good feel, although the suspension is tuned for comfort, which is what CR-V customers want. The front strut and rear multi-link suspension provide occupants with good comfort levels, although the CR-V doesn’t seem to take sharp bumps and strong shocks as well as rivals like the Subaru XV. The ground clearance is over 200mm, but it looks like the CR-V feels more at home in the city than in the ranch.

Which again could suit Thailand a lot since no one here would use a CR-V for off-roading. The high clearance is good when the city is flooded (happens a lot), and the comfortable suspension is great when driven on poorly maintained roads.

There is vehicle stability assist, hill start assist and auto brake-hold function that is helpful when driving in traffic jams as you don’t have to shift to N or P and back to D often.

The CR-V comes with the Honda Lane Watch system, which uses a camera on the front passenger sideview mirror and displays the image on the centre console screen whenever you flick the left turn signal. There are markings telling you whether it is safe to change lanes. Just like the driver-side blind spot monitor, it is pretty redundant as you already have the mirrors. But it would be useful for clumsy drivers.

There’s also a multi-angle rearview camera and six airbags.

The Honda CR-V lives up to expectations in offering high comfort and versatility, as well as convenience thanks to a full package of features. Rivals like the Mazda CX-5 and Subaru XV are getting better, but the CR-V can still be considered the one to beat in the Thai compact SUV segment.

Honda CR-V 1.6 DT-EL 4WD specs

Engine: DOHC 16-valve i-DTEC common-rail diesel with turbocharger

Displacement: 2,356cc

Bore and stroke: 87.0×99.1mm

Compression ratio: 10.0:1

Max power: 173ps/6,200rpm

Max torque: 3224Nm/4,000rpm

Transmission: CVT

Ratios: 2.645-0.405

Final drive: 5.363

Fuel economy: (litres/100km)

City: 11.4

Highway: 6.3

Combined: 8.2

CO2: 194g/km

Suspension (f/r): McPherson strut, stabiliser/multi-link, stabiliser

Steering: powered rack-and-pinion

Turning circle: 11.0 metres

Brakes (f/r): vented disc/disc

Dimensions (mm)

Length: 4,571

Width: 1,855

Height: 1,667

Wheelbase: 2,660

Track (f/r): 1,598/1,613

Ground clearance: 208mm

Weight: 1,670kgs

Wheels: 18-in alloy

Tires: 235/60 R18

Fuel tank capacity: 57 litres

Price: Bt1.549 million

Distributor: Honda Automobile Thailand Co Ltd

The company said this was more than twice the overall industry growth in Thailand, which went up by 11.3 per cent. As a result of this, Chevrolet climbed to 2.2 per cent market share, clearly outperforming the market.

Leading the charge for Chevrolet Thailand’s positive momentum was the Colorado pickup truck, which saw its year-on-year sales increase by 32 per cent.

Across Southeast Asia, General Motors grew its overall sales volume by 14.8 per cent after the consolidation of its Southeast Asian businesses. The positive sales momentum is supported by GM’s ongoing commitment to Southeast Asia as a region, and Chevrolet’s strength in trucks and SUVs, said the company in a Friday press release.

GM Southeast Asia president Ian Nicholls said: “We are now one region and one team in Southeast Asia, and together we grew our overall volume by 14.8 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016. Given the difficult, but necessary, changes we underwent and some of the challenges we faced, this is a very positive result from the General Motors SEA team and our dealer partners.”

Chevrolet is also putting forth significant efforts into the customer experience and long-term business strategy. At the recent National Dealer Conference 2018, Chevrolet Thailand met with representatives of Chevrolet dealerships to sign a new Dealer Sales and Service Agreement (DSSA).

Suzuki has been highly successful in the Thai automobile market thanks to the popularity of small and fuel-efficient cars among the nation’s motorists.

The Thai government’s Eco Car projects have also helped boost the small-car market, with major players making huge investments to produce city cars and selling them with super-low excise tax. Suzuki was among the first companies to sign up, with production of the Swift subcompact hatchback.

While the Swift is also the company’s most popular model, there are also other models from its eco car project, including the Celerio (also a 5-door hatchback) and the Ciaz sedan featured today.

The Ciaz has been in the market for several years, and gets regular improvements. For example the current model now comes with new projector headlights as well air-conditioning vents for the rear passengers, offering a higher level of comfort.

Although it is classified as an “eco car”, the Ciaz is pretty large. The Ciaz RS, priced at Bt675,000 (Bt50,000 higher than the GLX trim), comes with sporty exterior upgrades including skirts and spoilers, plus upsized 16-inch alloy wheels with sporty 195/55 tires, which looks great. However it may seem a little ironic that the 1,000-kilogram car is powered by a 1.25-litre engine (due to the eco car requirement) rather than a 1.5-litre engine like the Toyota Vios or Honda City.

The 4-cylinder engine taken from the Swift is capable of producing 91 horsepower and 118Nm, which is mated to a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission).

Weighing in at almost 1,000kgs, the Ciaz seems too heavy for its engine and doesn’t accelerate very well, a common eco-car symptom. The good part is that the powertrain is highly economical, and the Ciaz does promise a 20km/litre fuel economy.

The suspension offers higher comfort than the Swift, which allows the Ciaz to cruise comfortably on the highways. The 2,650mm wheelbase and 1,500mm track also provides for plenty of cabin space that also welcomes tall passengers thanks to decent headroom.

The brakes are front disc and rear drums, with ABS and Brake Assist, while in the cabin there are dual front airbags.

The interior features black and silver styling, with a multi-function 3-spoke steering wheel and a 7-inch touchscreen offering the Suzuki Smart Connect infotainment system with GPS navigation and Apple CarPlay.

In addition to the rear air vents, there is also an additional 12V socket for rear passengers (which should actually be upgraded to USB ports) and a total of 8 cupholders spread around the cabin. And apart from the large interior space, the trunk is capable of storing 565 litres.

After driving the CIAZ for a few days, I related to it as a 1.5-litre sedan that had gone through engine downsizing for fuel economy and emission purposes.

But while performance may not be the selling point, the Ciaz RS has many other things to offer, particularly great design and plenty of cabin space, comfortable suspension setup and good connectivity. Last but not least, its Bt675,000 price tag is pretty friendly too.

Suzuki Ciaz RS specs

Engine: 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve

Displacement: 1,242cc

Bore and stroke: 73.0×74.2mm

Compression ratio: 11.0:1

Max power: 91hp/6,000rpm

Max torque: 118Nm/4,800rpm

Transmission: CVT

Ratios: 4.006-1.001 (low), 2.200-0.550 (high)

Fuel economy: 20km/litre

Suspension (f/r): McPherson strut, coil springs/torsion beam, coil springs

Steering: powered rack-and-pinion

Turning circle: 10.8 metres

Brakes (f/r): vented discs/drums

Dimensions (mm)

Length: 4,490

Width: 1,730

Height: 1,475

Wheelbase: 2,650

Track (f/r): 1,495/1,505

Weight: 1,005kgs

Wheels: 16-inch alloys

Tyres: 195/55 R16

Fuel tank capacity: 42 litres

Price: Bt675,000

Distributor: Suzuki Motor Thailand

Last year the Renault-Nissan Alliance took a controlling 34-per-cent stake in ailing Mitsubishi Motors, making it an equal partner. New business plans have been announced at the global level, and will start taking effect in 2018.

According to the Alliance 2022, a six-year plan announced in September that has set a new target to double annual synergies to 10 billion euros by the end of the plan, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors will accelerate collaboration on common platforms, powertrains and next-generation electric, autonomous and connected technologies.

In addition, synergies will be enhanced by the group’s growing scale. Total annual sales are forecast to exceed 14 million units, generating revenues expected at US$240 billion by the sixth year.

Meanwhile in Thailand, Morikazu Chokki, president of Mitsubishi Motor (Thailand), said Mitsubishi and Nissan have started sharing vehicle logistics and financing, with Nissan Leasing stepping in to start up Mitsu Leasing to serve Mitsubishi customers.

Engineers from both companies will also collaborate in joint purchasing cost reduction and vehicle production.

“We have already commenced the collaborations and we plan to increase the level of cooperation in the future,” he said.

Mitsubishi was highly successful in 2017, with sales of almost 70,000 units, an increase of 26 per cent and equal to a market share of 9 per cent.

Mitsubishi hopes to grow sales this year with the launch of the Expander SUV model from Indonesia during the midyear period, apart from 3 minor change models.

Mitsubishi exports from Thailand grew by 2 per cent to 333,000 units last year. CBU exports dropped by 6 per cent, as more CKD parts from Thailand were sent for local assembly in the Philippines and Indonesia, Chokki said.

He said Mitsubishi Motors is a specialist in plugin hybrid and EV (Electric Vehicle) technology, and is studying possibilities of filing for investment promotion with the BOI within this year.

Electric GT Holdings said the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), motor sports’ governing body, has approved circuit races for the Tesla Model S P100D.

“The Championship is the first all-electric circuit race series in the world and heralds the dawn of a new electric future,” Electric GT said on its website.

Last week, the race-prepared model passed its official FIA crash test required for competition, it added.

Tesla founder Elon Musk has billed a model S P100D with “Ludicrous mode” as the third-fastest accelerating production car ever made, capable of going from zero to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in 2.5 seconds.

That is slower only than the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder two-seaters, according to Tesla.

No date for the races has been announced, but they will involve 20 international drivers racing for 10 professional teams, according to Electric GT.

They will be organized in two rounds of 38 miles (60 kilometers) each, one in the day and another at dusk, after a three-heat qualifying round.

Competition for 100-percent electric vehicles has grown. Formula E, which bills itself as the world’s first fully-electric international single-seater street racing series, brings competition to 10 cities around the world.

Since it began in 2014, the series has drawn an increasing number of automobile manufacturers. The 2018-2019 season will include Mercedes, Porsche and BMW.

Volkswagen on Wednesday said a 100-percent electric prototype, driven by Frenchman Romain Dumas, will join the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States in June.

After winning Pikes Peak three times, Dumas aims to top the best time realized by an electric car in the race, the American Rhys Millen’s 8 min 57 sec 118/1000, which is also the third best of all times.

Dorna, which runs the MotoGP World Championship of motorcycle racing, is preparing for an electric motorcycle championship in 2019, when the RallyCross championship prepares to become the “E-WRX” in 2020.