Thailand has two major auto shows on its calender, being the Bangkok Auto Show in March and the Thailand International Auto Expo in early December, and as Thailand continues its rise as both a global top 10 national consumer and producer of automobiles, the two shows held in the "Detroit of the East" grow in importance every year.
The importance of the Thai Market on the Global Stage
Seven concept models appeared on the floor of the Challenger Impact Convention Center in Bangkok, despite the concurrent running of two globally important auto shows (Tokyo Motor Show and Los Angeles Auto Show ), emphasizing Thailand's emergence as a global automotive player.
The importance of the Thai Market on the Global Stage
Seven concept models appeared on the floor of the Challenger Impact Convention Center in Bangkok, despite the concurrent running of two globally important auto shows (Tokyo Motor Show and Los Angeles Auto Show ), emphasizing Thailand's emergence as a global automotive player.
Last year Thailand produced 2.45 million cars, (up 68 percent on 2011), sold 1.43 million locally (up 80 percent), and moved into the top 10 auto producing countries in the world.
This year's show is being staged in the shadow of political unrest in Thailand, but expectations are still high that more than 50,000 cars will be purchased by the event's expected 1.6 million visitors.
Though 85,000 cars were sold at last year's event, those figures are still remarkably high in comparison to the number of cars sold at events such as the aforementioned Tokyo and Los Angeles Motor Shows, held in much stronger economies with far larger, more affluent populations.
Thailand's local new car sales have already exceeded 1.12 million in the first ten months of 2013, and providing political stability is maintained, 1.3 million new vehicle sales look possible for the year.
Developed countries such as the United States (79.7 cars for every hundred people), Australia (71.7), Canada (60.7), Japan (59.1), and almost all European countries already have more than one car for every two people.Vehicles per head of population, is one of those indicators which reflects the status of a nation along the development and prosperity continuum, and the effects of buoyant sales and manufacture of automobiles on a nation are a key drivers of economic growth and the development of technological capability for the nation as a whole.
There is a point though, of diminishing returns. Once more than half of the population has cars, it gets a lot tougher to sell a new car because the most prosperous inhabitants already have one.
Large still-developing countries will make up the majority of global car sales over the next decade as their populations grow rich. Countries such as India, which still has only 1.8 cars for every 100 people, Indonesia (6.0), China (8.5), Russia (29.3), Brazil (24.9), Mexico, (27.5) and Thailand (20.6) will be where the action is for automotive companies wishing to sell their wares.
The United States produced most of the world's cars for the last century, still making more than half of the world's cars each year into the late 1960s. Then Japan's automotive industry boomed during the seventies and helped create a global economic powerhouse, and more recently, China has done likewise, with India not far behind.
One of the many fascinations in the global automotive game of thrones is the blurring of formerly national brands – brands selling cars we all assume are made in a particular country because of the nationality of the brands they bear, and the A:Wind is a prime example.
The A:Wind Suzuki may carry the brand of a Japanese company, but it will be produced in Thailand, at least initially.
The announcement of the Suzuki A:Wind in Thailand and not in Los Angeles or Tokyo is a sign of the time because it is a very significant vehicle.
Suzuki sees it as a global car which will go into many overseas markets including the massive Indian marketplace where Suzuki is the automotive market leader.
Market leadership in India is very important for Suzuki's global aspirations as the country's 1,237 million population makes up 17.4 percent of the global population and is growing far faster in population than China (1,361 million) and the United States (317 million). The numbers are so large, they're difficult to comprehend. India has added 208.4 million citizens in the 12 years since its 2001 census – more than the entire population of the world's fifth most populous country, Brazil (201 million people).
What's more, Suzuki will reap massive sales over the coming decade thanks to its dominance of the small car market in a country with so many people who aspire to freedom of mobility and don't have it.
Rumors have immediately broken out following the announcement of the A:Wind that it will replace Suzuki's current offering in India, the three-cylinder, DOHC, four-valve, 1000cc A-Star. The A-Star (pictured below) doesn't look all that different, but the A:Wind is a far more sophisticated machine.
Leading international management consulting firm Booz & Company rates India as a "key pillar of the global automotive market," that will by 2015, "exceed every major European market including Germany, France and UK in automotive sales" and 20 years from now, "will be one of the top three markets for automotive sales worldwide."
The Vitally Important A-segment
The A-segment is industry terminology and doesn't translate directly into every national car category definition.
The United States automobile industry, for instance, developed using the assumption that if it made cars that Americans wanted, they'd suit the rest of the world too. Thinking the world had as much money, resources, oil, road infrastructure and public space as the United States worked fine for a long time, but the dominance of the American industry has been on the wane since the mid-sixties. Old habits persist though, and America still lumps A- and B-segment cars into the sub-compact category.
The A segment includes cars like the MINI, Fiat 500 and Panda, Volkswagen up!, Smart forTwo, Toyota Aygo, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Ford Ka, Renault Twingo and Zoe, Chevrolet Spark, Peugeot 107, Citroen C1, Scion iQ and the Opel Adam.
So let's use the term "city car."
City cars make up a small percentage of the automobiles sold in most developed economies, but a significant proportion in developing economies where space on the less robust road infrastructure is limited, and running costs (the costs of running a car rise roughly at the square of the size) can make the difference between having a car or a scooter or walking.
Accordingly, this class of vehicle will be the most important class globally in the near future, if it isn't already.
Honda's just-released Fit is a new player in this category and is currently causing problems for Honda as sales have far exceeded supply and production is maxed out. The Fit, like the A:Wind, uses a Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT).
The Suzuki A:Wind concept will be needed by Maruti Suzuki in India to maintain its market dominance against an influx of new highly-efficient city cars such as the Fit.
The Suzuki A:Wind uses a three-cylinder, one liter motor and Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT) and it is due to begin production in 2014, though the delineation between concept and production model appears blurred in this instance. It's Suzuki's way of saying it reserves the right to change certain specifications, but that this concept car is the fundamental blueprint. Whilst the yellow beauty on display certainly appeared production-ready, there may be minor changes as it is readied for some serious mass production.
Source: Gizmag
