Roland Folger, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Thailand, said at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel Bangkok where the event is held: “As we look to the future, artificial intelligence is a key issue for us. This applies to all sectors of the business – development, production and the use of vehicles, as well as mobility services and communication. Artificial intelligence and digitalisation open new opportunities for Daimler in all fields of the Case strategy.

“Case describes the four trends which are set to fundamentally alter the concept of mobility; connected, autonomous, shared and service and electric drive. This strategy represents a key technology on the road to an emission-free future for the motor vehicle,” Folger added.

He said by 2022, the company will electrify the entire portfolio, offering customers at least one electrified alternative in all Mercedes-model series. The company is planning to offer more than 50 electrified vehicle variants in all segments.

The C-HR earned 382 points, followed by the Mazda CX-5 with 307 points, the Suzuki Swift (260 points), the Mitsubishi Xpander (141), the MG ZS (136) and the Nissan Terra (130).

“The criteria included design, handling, comfort, performance, safety, equipment level, technology, pricing and environmental friendliness,” said Bhuvanath Paochinda, president of the Thai Automotive Journalists Association.

A total of 12 new models entered the competition, with six making the cut for the final round.

Fifty-four automotive journalists took part in the final round, which was held at the Suvarnabhumi Motorsport Park on November 16.

Toyota Motor Thailand PR director Preecha Pothi received the award for the C-HR.

Ghosn’s arrest sent shockwaves through the auto industry, where he was a towering figure, as well as Tokyo markets, which opened lower as Nissan fell more than six percent.

And his legacy appeared in danger of total collapse, with his own handpicked successor as Nissan CEO accusing Ghosn of accruing too much power, in what he called the “dark side” of his leadership.

The spectacular fall of the Brazil-born executive also raised questions about the future of the sometimes fractious alliance he led of Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault.

Both Nissan and Mitsubishi have said they will propose his removal as chairman, with Renault’s board also meeting to discuss his fate.

On Tuesday there were still many unanswered questions about the allegations against a man long credited with an almost magical ability to turn around ailing auto companies.

Nissan’s CEO said a months-long investigation prompted by a whistleblower had uncovered years of financial wrongdoing, including under-reporting of Ghosn’s salary and misuse of company assets.

Prosecutors said they were holding him as they investigated allegations he had under-reported his income by around five billion yen ($44.5 million) over five years.

The shock of his arrest was compounded by the harsh language levelled against him by Nissan CEO, Hiroto Saikawa, who in a press conference accused Ghosn of accruing too much power.

“Too much authority was given to one person in terms of governance,” he told reporters at Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama on Monday.

“I have to say that this is a dark side of the Ghosn era which lasted for a long time.”

Saikawa said he was still thinking through whether Ghosn was “a charismatic figure or a tyrant.”

‘Years of financial misconduct’

It was an almost unthinkable turn of events for Ghosn, 64, who had earned a virtually unparallelled reputation, particularly in Japan, for his role in resurrecting Nissan.

Ghosn has dominated the country’s corporate landscape, and is a well-known figure among the general public, who know him as “Mr Fix It”, partly through a popular manga comic of his life story.

But the tables had turned Tuesday, with the Yomiuri Shimbun described executives at Nissan slamming Ghosn as “greedy.”

“He says the right things, but in the end it’s all about money,” the daily quoted employees as saying.

It was unclear how long Ghosn could be held, or even when prosecutors would officially announce the charges against him.

Nissan said it had uncovered years of financial misconduct by Ghosn and Representative Director Greg Kelly, including under-reporting of income and inappropriate personal use of company assets.

Saikawa gave few details and refused to confirm reports that Ghosn under-reported his income by 5 billion yen, or around $44 million, over five years from 2011.

He said an ongoing investigation limited what details could be shared, and refused to be drawn on whether other people were involved, saying only: “These two gentlemen are the masterminds, that is definite.”

Saikawa insisted the partnership among Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi “will not be affected by this event,” but had no details on how the other firms would respond, or who might succeed Ghosn.

The news sparked concern in France, where the state owns a 15 percent stake in Renault. President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would be “extremely vigilant” about the stability of the firm and its three-way tie-up.

And French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the government would “do everything as a shareholder represented on Renault’s board to ensure operational continuity and stable governance at Renault.”

Despite his international renown and rock-star status, particularly in Japan, where he was a rare foreign-born executive, Ghosn was not without detractors.

He earned admiration but also anger for his ruthless restructuring at firms like Nissan, and was nicknamed “Le Cost Cutter” in France.

And his pay packet was regularly the subject of criticism, including at Renault, where it sparked a spat with shareholders.

Ghosn’s arrest and his likely dismissal from Nissan, and possibly Mitsubishi and Renault, sent shockwaves through the auto industry, where he is a towering figure credited with turning around several major manufacturers and leads an alliance of of the three automakers.

Nissan’s board will meet Thursday to decide his fate, and Mitsubishi said it would propose he be dismissed as chairman “promptly.” Renault said its board would meet “shortly”, after Ghosn was detained over allegations including underreporting his income.

At a hastily organised press conference, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa expressed “despair,” but also suggested that Ghosn had accrued too much power and eluded proper oversight.

“Too much authority was given to one person in terms of governance,” he told reporters at Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama.

“I have to say that this is a dark side of the Ghosn era which lasted for a long time.”

The news of Ghosn’s downfall emerged unexpectedly on Monday evening, with local media first reporting he was being questioned by prosecutors and that Nissan’s headquarters was being raided.

Shortly afterwards, Nissan said in a statement that it had been investigating Ghosn and Representative Director Greg Kelly for months after a whistleblower report.

“These two gentleman are arrested this evening, that’s what I understand,” Saikawa said at the press conference.

He said the company had uncovered years of financial misconduct including underreporting of income and inappropriate personal use of company assets.

Saikawa gave few details about the nature of the improprieties, including refusing to confirm reports that Ghosn underreported his income by 5 billion yen, or around $44 million, over five years from 2011.

He said an ongoing investigation limited what details could be shared, and refused to be drawn on whether other people were involved, saying only: “These two gentlemen are the masterminds, that is definite.”

News of Ghosn’s arrest caused Renault shares to plummet more than 12 percent in Paris. The reports emerged after the trading day was over in Tokyo.

And the apparent disintegration of Ghosn’s career raised questions about the alliance of the three car companies, which the Brazil-born executive was often believed to be holding together personally.

Saikawa insisted “the partnership among the three entities will not be affected by this event,” but he was unable to give details on how Renault and Mitsubishi planned to respond, or who might succeed Ghosn.

‘Man of charisma’

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Paris would be “extremely vigilant” about the stability of Renault and the three-firm alliance after Ghosn’s arrest. France owns a 15 percent stake in Renault.

Ghosn’s arrest will “rock the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance as he is the keystone of the alliance,” said Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW, a Tokyo-based research and consulting firm.

“He is the man of charisma for the alliance. It is likely to have a negative impact on its brand image,” he told AFP.

“It’s the future of the alliance that seems in play, because the thing holding it together seemed to be Ghosn himself,” said Daniel Larrouturou, a senior executive at investment firm Diamant Bleu Gestion.

The arrest is an astonishing reversal of fortune for Ghosn, often feted for his success at turning around failing companies with hard-nosed tactics that earned him the nickname “Le Cost Killer” in France.

Renault came to the rescue of the then-ailing Japanese automaker Nissan in 1999 and parachuted in Ghosn, who set about slashing costs and jobs in a huge corporate overhaul.

In 2016, Ghosn also took charge at troubled Mitsubishi after Nissan threw it a lifeline, buying a one-third stake for about $2.2 billion as it wrestled with a mileage-cheating scandal that hammered sales.

He is credited with saving Nissan from bankruptcy through measures including closing plants and restructuring, and he has instant name recognition in Japan, where he is a rare high-profile foreign executive.

But he has also faced opposition, including over his pay, with his compensation package at Renault prompting a spat with shareholders and criticism from France’s then-economy minister Emmanuel Macron.

Saikawa said he was still thinking through whether Ghosn was “a charismatic figure or a tyrant.”

“But looking at the facts he has done what not many other people could have done,” he added, referring to Ghosn’s overhauls of companies.

Foton Thailand president Gao Ming said the event will offer test drives. The Auman Est 400 truck performs has 400 horsepower at 1,900 revolutions per min from high-quality engine. It comes with the ZF gearbox system, both manual shift 16 gears and automatic shift AMT 12 gears are provided.

Globally, BMW Group’s growth continues to gather pace as worldwide sales over the first nine months of 2018 grew by 1.3 per cent to 1,834,810 vehicles.

Thailand saw total BMW and Mini deliveries from January to September rise by 15.6 per cent to 8,903 vehicles to set yet another record.

BMW Motorrad enjoyed strong year-to-date performance with 1,425 motorcycles delivered for an increase of 9.4 per cent year-on-year.

Christian Wiedmann, president of BMW Group Thailand, said: “Our leading position as a premium automaker continues to grow stronger in Thailand and around the world.

“The exceptional performance we have seen throughout this year is testament to the trust that Thai automotive enthusiasts have placed in our three brands as well as the incredible effort from our network of authorised dealers across the country.”

The Mazda2 was the top-selling model with 3,770 units (a 67-per-cent increase, year on year), followed by the CX-5 with 469 units (up 23 per cent), the Mazda3 with 408 units (up 46 per cent), the CX-3 with 294 units (57 per cent higher), the BT-50 PRO with 704 units (up 99 per cent) and the MX-5 with two units.

From January to October, Mazda sales reached 57,402 units, equivalent to an increase of 43 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Organiser Kwanchai Paphatphong said this year 45,000 bookings are expected to be placed for new cars plus 8,000 motorcycles.

“The expected 1.5 million visitors will generate over Bt55 billion at the Moto Expo, and help contribute to Thailand vehicles sales breaking the one-million-unit mark this year,” he said.

Apart from new models, there will also be concept vehicles on display as well as activities such as safety driving, off-roading and an autonomous drive exhibition.

In a press release issued on Thursday, the company said that with the simple steps of “filling-snapping-sending” and 30-minute SMS result notification, the platform promises to provide a more seamless experience by enabling easier access to auto finance services.

Pairote Cheunkrut, Head of Krungsri Auto Group, Bank of Ayudhya PCL, said: “At Krungsri Auto, we are committed to understanding customers and comprehensively answering their needs. We learned that, when looking to buy a new vehicle, customers do not usually feel confident about loan credit because they are not fully aware of their own financial capability. Additionally, with consumers’ increasing expectation for easy access to information, products and services at their fingertips, the need for digital auto finance solutions has increased considerably.

“Such insights led to ‘Krungsri Auto PromptStart’, the first digital auto lending innovation that allows customers to check their own credit appraisal via mobile website. It promises three key benefits: Assurance, Accessibility and Advice. Being more aware of the money in their hand, customers are empowered to make more informed decisions on vehicle selection. The platform also offers a quick, convenient and seamless experience to respond to consumers’ digital lifestyle. More importantly, customers can get consultation on loan conditions from their personal PromptStart Advisor who will provide support throughout the process.”

The company said customers can check their credit appraisal with “Krungsri Auto PromptStart” by following the simple steps of “filling-snapping-sending”: filling in personal information, snapping photos of three documents (an ID card, a salary slip and an employee badge or a bank statement) and sending a form. The result will be notified via SMS within 30 minutes during office hours. Customers will receive information on preliminary loan credit appraisal, instalment period, down payment as well as contact details of their personal PromptStart Advisor.

Pairote added: “Krungsri Auto PromptStart is the first innovation under our digital lending initiatives which set to provide more comprehensive solutions throughout the customer journey in the future. This launch reinforces our commitment to consistently enhancing our offerings to effectively answer customer needs and respond to changing consumer lifestyles. We believe that Krungsri Auto PromptStart will not only offer a more seamless experience but also propel business growth for dealers and car manufacturers as well as raise the standard of Thailand’s auto finance industry.”