This move will expands its authorised dealer network and strengthen its service standards, the company said.

Building on the significant demand for big bikes in Khon Kaen that has grown by more than five times over the past 5 years, the first-ever BMW Motorrad Sky Autohaus showroom will sell BMW motorcycles and lifestyle accessories and offer quality aftersales assistance.

Markus Glaeser, head of BMW Motorrad Thailand, said: “BMW Motorrad Thailand is thrilled to join with Sky Autohaus in strengthening the brand’s presence and widening BMW Motorrad’s accessibility to our customers in the Northeast of Thailand.

“With outstanding expertise in premium service and an excellent relationship with customers, as well as Sky Autohaus’ vision to prioritise customer satisfaction above all else, we are certain that the new showroom will bring the highest standard of services to our customers in Khon Kaen and nearby provinces.”

Dr Samart Yimsiri, managing director of BMW Motorrad Sky Autohaus, said: “With the exceptional performance and cutting-edge technology of BMW Motorrad motorcycles, together with the good relationship with BMW customers that we have garnered for more than 18 years, underlined by our team of experts and staff who are prepared to assist and address every customer’s need, we firmly believe that the BMW Motorrad Sky Autohaus showroom Khon Kaen will flourish and grow into a highly successful establishment.

“Our key business strategies involve an emphasis on the BMW Motorrad brand, which is widely recognised among big bike lovers in the Northeastern region for its state-of-the-art technology and powerful performance, and our commitment to deliver excellent services to Sky Autohaus’ customers in Khon Kaen and nearby provinces.

“Additionally, Sky Autohaus has a large customer base from our car dealership businesses, which in turn encourages business synergy that we believe will amplify BMW Motorrad sales.”

For this achievement, Shell was presented the Thailand Automotive Quality Awards (TAQA) 2017 at an award ceremony organised by Thailand Automotive Institute, Inter‐Media Consultant, Manager Newspaper and Custom Asia Co. TAQA results are based on consumers’ votes nationwide and reflect the strong consumer confidence in Shell Helix, according to Siriwipha Yuktadatta, ScoT sales manager – lubricants, who received the award on behalf of the company. She said: “We are honoured to receive this recognition for the fourth time especially since it is coming from our consumers. Their continued vote of confidence in Shell is strong evidence that they like the quality of our products and that our products meet their needs.”

“Such achievements are the result of Shell’s constant strive in innovation. Each year at least Bt30 billion is spent on research and development to cater to today’s increasingly demanding and discerning consumers.”

. Shell Thailand will continue its commitment to “Make Life’s Journeys Better” by developing the very best products as well as by working to collaborate with various partners to provide a superior driving experience and service to our motoring consumers.”

The $2.5 billion, eight-year plan also involves the installation of 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations and 200 hydrogen fueling stations by 2025.

“To continue to meet California’s climate goals and clean air standards, California must go even further to accelerate the market for zero-emission vehicles,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

The order aims to “dramatically reduce carbon emissions from transportation — a sector that accounts for 50 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and 80 percent of smog-forming pollutants,” it added.

The previous target, from 2012, aimed to get 1.5 million “green” vehicles on the roads of the most populated US state — which boasts the biggest automobile market, with around 14.5 million vehicles for 40 million people.

California, where the number of zero emissions vehicles has risen by 1,300 percent in six years according to the order, will need to maintain similarly exponential growth to meet its latest goal.

Currently, eco-friendly vehicle sales represent five percent of sales in the state.

Two years ago, California also adopted a goal of cutting CO2 emissions to 40 percent below the 1990 level by 2030.

The “Golden State,” a leading force in the fight against climate change in the US, also aims to obtain half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

The order also includes a $1.25 billion investment in California’s own carbon market.

This latest facility underlines the potential for the premium automotive market on the Gulf of Thailand by bringing BMW’s latest innovations and services to the southern region through a full showroom and service facility, the company said. It follows on from the opening of BMW Studio Millennium Auto in Surat Thani and the BMW and MINI showroom and service centre in Phuket over the past year.

Stefan Teuchert, president, BMW Group Thailand, said: “Millennium Auto has continuously proven itself in this regard. By reaching into new markets of the largest southern economic areas, we are positive that BMW Group Thailand and Millennium Auto will harmoniously grow towards a successful future.”

Sunhavut Thamchuanviriya, managing director of Millennium Auto, said: “Millennium Auto is devoted to expanding our service network to better serve the eclectic needs of customers nationwide. We currently have 10 showrooms across the country with the latest addition in Hat Yai, which is at the very heart of the southern economic area on the east coast, reflecting our recognition of the demands and potential in the region.

“ We are confident that the opening of this showroom and service center will elevate our service standards as well as strengthen the partnership between Millennium Auto and BMW Group Thailand.”

“Last year was a strong year, led by the Chevrolet Colorado,” Ian Nicholls, president of GM Southeast Asia, noted in his welcoming address. “With the hard work and collaboration of our teams, we grew our market share and closed sales of December at 2,789 units, the highest sales record since May 2014.

“We are also pleased to have seen some positive feedback from the JD Power 2017 Thailand APEAL Study, in which Chevrolet performed well above industry average, while the Colorado also scored extremely well in the Extended cab segments.”

The conference also included a panel discussion on “Pickups and SUVs – The Future of the Thai Automobile Industry”, led by media tycoons such as Prachin Eamlumnow of Grand Prix International, Kwanchai Prapatpong of Inter-Media Consultant and Pattanadesh Asasappakij of VA & Sons, moderated by Wit Sittivaekin.

The panellists shared a belief in a bright future for SUVs and pickups, particularly high-stance trucks, and this aligns with Chevrolet’s business direction in Thailand.

Demand for OEM accessorised pickups is expected to increase, according to the media executives.

Isuzu, which sold more than 160,500 vehicles in Thailand last year, said facelifted Speed and Speed Cab 4 models would be in showrooms by February 15, priced from Bt742,000 to Bt966,000.

Apart from the exterior design updates, new features include bi-xenon headlights, surround-sound systems and piano-black interior trim.

The new MG ZS, the world’s first Thai language-enabled smart car with i-Smart system, proved especially popular, receiving over 3,000 orders in just a month since its November 2017 launch, said a Thursday press release from the company.

MG’s impressive 45 per cent increase in combined car sales compared to 2016 included 6,033 sales of the trendy MG3 model, 2,328 of the MG GS, 2,451 of the MG5, 433 of the MG6, and 768 of the new MG ZS.

Other achievements for SAIC Motor-CP Co Ltd and MG Sales (Thailand) Co Ltd in 2017 included December’s opening of a brand new eco-friendly Bt10-billion production plant, located on a 437-rai (70-hectare) plot of land at the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 2 Chonburi. Featuring the latest automations and intelligent robotics, along with a maximum production capacity of 100,000 vehicles per year, MG hopes that the plant in Chonburi will become a global production hub for right-hand-drive MG vehicles for not only Thailand and Asean, but also for other markets around the world.

Pongsak Lertrudeewattanawong, vice-president of MG Sales (Thailand) Co, Ltd said: “It’s been a successful year for MG in Thailand, and our hard work and dedication has really paid off. MG’s strong growth is partly due to Thai people becoming more aware of the trustworthiness of MG as a high quality, luxury British brand with exceptional after-sales service. We go above and beyond with our ‘passion service’ maintenance programme, offering a 4-year or 120,000-kilometre warranty, 24-hour roadside assistance and MG call centre.

“In the coming year, the Thai economy is likely to see 4 per cent growth due to an increase in the industries of imports and travel, which will have a knock-on effect in car sales, with approximately 950,000 more cars being sold,” said Pongsak in the press release.

“The Thai market in particular will see an increase in interest in multipurpose cars and ‘smart’ cars. Internet cars will also become popular in the coming years, and as MG was the first company to invent the Internet car, we are ideally positioned to capitalise on this growing market. In the future, MG vehicles will be built inspired by SAIC Motor’s four main principles: alternative energy, autonomous drive system, Internet system, and car sharing. We also plan to expand our number of MG dealerships in Thailand from 80 to 120 in 2018, in order to strengthen our position in the market,” Pongsak said.

These milestones have made 2017 the most successful 12-month period for all of BMW Group Thailand’s three business units – with BMW Thailand in particular posting the highest growth rate across BMW’s global network at 43 per cent year-on-year, according to a company press release on Thursday.

On the global level, BMW Group remains the world’s number-one premium automotive company after recording the best-ever annual sales for the seventh year in succession in 2017, growing sales by 4.1 per cent across the year to a total of 2,463,526 vehicles.

This success was spread throughout the company, with BMW and Mini brands achieving new all-time high figures with 2,088,283 BMW vehicles delivered, growing by 4.2 per cent year-on-year and 371,881 Mini vehicles delivered to customers around the world, 3.2 per cent higher than in 2016. BMW Motorrad achieved a seventh all-time sales high in succession in 2017 with a total of 164,153 BMW motorcycles delivered worldwide, an increase of 13.2 per cent on the previous year.

Stefan Teuchert, President, BMW Group Thailand, said “In 2017, we have once again achieved our targets across the three brands of BMW, Mini and BMW Motorrad. In addition to the highest growth rate worldwide for BMW in Thailand, we also saw remarkable success with plug-in hybrid vehicle sales rising by 269 per cent year-on-year, and it is a trend that we expect to continue in the foreseeable future thanks to consistently increasing demand. Likewise, BMW Group delivered more than 100,000 vehicles from the BMWi and BMW iPerformance range worldwide in the past calendar year, delivering yet another proof that our forward-looking technology is the right direction for motorists around the globe.”

A total of 10,020 BMW cars were delivered to Thai customers in 2017, a robust increase of 43% from the previous year and the highest growth recorded for the year across all of BMW’s global operations. The year drew to a close with BMW Thailand also posting their best ever December numbers with 1,422 BMW cars delivered within the month.

Mini sales in Thailand rose by a healthy 11 per cent year-on-year to reach 1,010 deliveries for 2017, while BMW Motorrad had its sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth with 2,001 motorcycles delivered in 2017 – up 10 per cent from the previous year. Both brands joined BMW in setting end-of-year records with Mini delivering 168 cars for its best December since 2015 as BMW Motorrad reached a new high of over 300 deliveries in the same month.

With the number of customers expected to double this year, the new parts distribution and PDI centre will be opened in mid-2018. Audi is hiring more staff as well as carrying out overseas training in order to ensure the highest quality of customer service.

Wallop Chalermvongsavej, Audi Thailand’s vice president, head of after sales, said one of the main objectives for the company is to create the highest level of customer satisfaction in after sales and in introducing new models to the market regularly.

“We have gone ahead in fully upgrading our after sales service with sizeable investments for technology in order to achieve Audi AG standards,” he said. “We are prepared in terms of personnel, equipment, tools and genuine spare parts in order to give our customers a great experience every time they visit the facility.”

Since the Audi Thailand showroom and service centrer was officially opened in March 2017, a large number of Audi Thailand customers as well as Audi customers from the previous importer and independent importers have come to service their vehicles here.

“We partnered with Siam Autobacs, operator of Japan’s No 1 one-stop car service centre, the Autobacs, and sole operator, with a licence to expand in Thailand,” said president and chief executive Pitak Ratchakitprakarn.

“This latest branch offers world-class products and services that cater to our customers’ every need through various touch points, including a Maxmart convenience store and Punthai Coffee. We plan to roll out 240 Autobacs branches within five years – 135 stand-alone and 105 at PT service stations.

“At the same time,” he said, “the company will continue to widen PT gas-station coverage in Bangkok and vicinity from 107 branches, and increase our proportion of income from benzene sales. The proportion has grown from 24 per cent in 2013 to 28 per cent in 2017.

“Our company only offers quality products and services, while working to maximise privileges for our 7.7 million Max Card members and introducing new products and services to cater to everyone’s needs. This year, customers can expect at least two or three new offerings in our PT service station.”

Pitak called Samut Prakan “a high-potential area”.

“We believe Autobacs will be a perfect solution for comprehensive automobile services. Importantly, this partnership marks a great beginning in future endeavours for differentiated services and strong sustainable growth in the coming future.”