One week in Bangkok and the car guys tumble

THANKS to the kind people at Ford Group Philippines, I recently attended the Asean Launch of the all-new Ford Ranger. On paper, it is probably the most impressive compact pickup truck to be released. Unfortunately for us, we’ll have to wait until the end of this year until we get it on our local roads. But again, if the spec sheet is anything to go by with, it will surely be worth the wait.

Thailand will, however, get it immediately as their compact pickup truck market is far bigger than our overall vehicle market: 200,000 or so pick-up trucks alone versus 172,000 vehicles of all kinds sold in the Philippine shores.

Thailand truly is impressive; no wonder it is considered as the Detroit of Asia, with huge factories spewing out endless cars for export to the entire Asean region. I’m somewhat saddened that at one point in time, the Philippines could have been this Detroit of Asia, and we’d be all the better for it, seeing that the Philippines is perfectly situated, being practically equidistant to all major points in Asia. We’d have tons of employment opportunities, more foreign direct investments and to top it all off, we’d probably be driving more cars, better equipped cars, more interesting cars and probably lower-priced cars. The savings alone in logistics of a car made locally versus a car imported from Thailand can run up to as much as P80,000 according to some industry insiders. That’s a whole lot of savings. That can mean buying a top-spec Vios versus a base-model Vios. That can mean 175,000 to 180,000 cars sold last year versus 172,000 because the lower acquisition cost opens up the possibility of buying a brand-new car for a whole lot of other people. To put things in perspective, P80,000 is almost worth 10 months of a minimum wage earner’s income.

Because of technology transfer, the OEM supplier’s industry in Thailand is also highly developed which is the reason why the aftermarket industry in Thailand has also grown immensely. Wheels, electronics, suspension parts and tires that are OEM quality or better are made in Thailand and are expected worldwide. These aftermarket parts are cheaper than traditional Japanese, European and American manufacturers, but are far better engineered and built compared with cheap, no-name knock-off parts made in China. Major Japanese aftermarket companies such as HKS have established an official presence in Thailand, and even household names such as TRD and Ralli-Art, brands owned by Toyota and Mitsubishi respectively now source and/or manufacture parts right out of Thailand. I wish their respective Philippine importers and distributors can bring in more TRD or Ralli-Art parts, accessories and apparel.

There were also some interesting cars as well as variants of existing car models locally available that were shown at the Bangkok Motorshow. Honda’s Freed, a mini-MPV based on the City platform with a sliding door, plus a VGT-equipped variant of the Isuzu Alterra SUV making more power, torque and efficiency. Audi had their 4-door luxury coupe A7 on display as well as the A1 which we’ll be getting sometime this year, but the most amazing thing was that Second Stage European manufacturers such as Brabus (Mercedes Benz-based cars) 9ff (Porsche 911-based cars) and Weisman (BMW power and drive trains fitted onto custom, classic looking sports cars from the ’40s and ’50s) have an official presence in Thailand, and were represented at the show. Truly, if they can afford to have these brands of cars, then their market is far more developed and mature than ours. It’s not a question of cost, because in the Philippines, high-end variants sell better than base-model variants particularly on the high-end ultra-luxury segment. It’s a matter of whether the Filipino market is ready for it, to go beyond the normal 3-box sedan/SUV/pickup market and realize that sometimes, the weirder-looking or less practical a car is, the more it can make sense, or at least appeal to our more basic wants and desires.

Thailand sold roughly 800,000 in 2010. We’re at 172,000 cars in 2010. This glaring difference puts things in perspective but I’m confident we can achieve this one day.