Market gears up for curtain call

Market gears up for curtain call

November vehicle sales of 57,719 units marked the second highest monthly haul this year thanks in part to the biggest performance by the pick-up segment bringing the 11-month total to 566,905 vehicles.

According to Toyota and Isuzu, the disparity between last year and 2007 during the first 11 months is -5.1% but the gap should narrow after results of the weekend's general election are announced Monday.

With the recent ending of Motor Expo 2007, the bulk of advance vehicle bookings of 17,605 units will most likely be added to the month of January, according to event organiser Kwanchai Paphasphong.

"We had 1,662,121 visitors, up 3.6% from the previous year and posted a 2.9% increase in vehicle bookings. The old atmosphere is almost back, so to speak, because people [in the B+ category with money] have a clearer picture of things to come when you consider the elections and what His Majesty the King spoke on spending on December 4th."

Toyota is slightly off-pace with 251,671 units sold, down 0.8% but dominates with 44.4% market share followed by Isuzu with 133,756 units for 23.6% share.

In November alone, Toyota (26,173) and Isuzu (16,014) combined for more than 72% of vehicle sales, while Honda rounded up the first tier of top brands with sales of 3,506 units. Nissan leads the second tier with 3,051.

The only brands out of the red when comparing 11-month totals year-on-year are Nissan (22.6%), Mercedes-Benz (8.9%), and Hino (0.8%).

A year-ending surge of 25-30% could see vehicle sales reach about 75,000 units in December and reduce the gap to about -4.6% compared to sales for whole of last year.

PICK-UPS

Sales of 37,888 pick-ups in November is the best monthly haul in 2007 which improved 7.4% on October's (35,265) and made up for the slack in passenger car segment. Analysts expect this month's sales to surpass November's by at least 5,000-8,000 units based on the trend the past five years, although last year's December figures surpassed November's by about 20,000 units.

In November, the powerhouses were neck-to-neck with Toyota in front on 15,068 followed by Isuzu 14,172 to dominate with a combined market share of 79.9%.

Nissan's limited edition Black Star Navara fuelled growth and steered the brand to 2,606 units last month, while Ford came up on top of its American counterpart Chevrolet on sales of 1,126 versus 1,076.

PASSENGER CARS

Sales of passenger cars last month dropped 10.8% from October and uncharacteristically marked the fourth lowest total of the year, the worst set in January at 11,127.

With Toyota and Honda firmly in command through market shares of 53.6% and 30.7% respectively, the segment is staring at a deficit of 33,664 units compared to last year's 12-month total.

Chevrolet leads the second tier with sales of 614 in November which contributed to its 6,702 total and 4.2% market share followed by Nissan (4,207) and Mercedes Benz (3,581) to wrap up the top five.

Brands posting growth were Mercedes-Benz (13%), Volvo (7.5%), Toyota (2.3%) and Chevrolet (1.2%).