Before the 28th Bangkok International Motor Show started, many auto-makers hoped that the event would spice up their sales. Otherwise, they might have to lower their revenue target for the second year in a row.

"It's very quiet this year. I think it's due to the country's economic slowdown and cloudy political situation," said Vitoon Vonglaemsing, a 43-year-old spa owner.

The automobile platforms disappointed him, as he likes looking at innovative models.

"Without new models, the show hardly attracted any people. Personally, I don't care about buying a car at the event or at a showroom because the price isn't any different," he said.

Decha Niyomkaew, who works in the refrigerated-vehicle-making industry, said the motor show this year was bland. "The attendance this year dropped around 30 per cent from last year, in my opinion."

Obviously, Asean's largest car show has been hit more by the sagging economy than the Motor Expo held at Muang Thong Thani in December, because the latter targets well-heeled buyers.

Since early this year when the country was buffeted by bad news, including confusing laws as well as political shocks, consumers such as Apinya Kochakong have tightened their purse strings. She said she was undecided about whether to buy a mid-sized Toyota Camry.

"I have set aside Bt2 million for a car," said the 38-year-old Bangkok business owner, who came to the show with her husband and two daughters.

Her family's construction business has slowed down, albeit slightly, amid the ongoing political uncertainties, which she expects will last for the rest of the year.

"The economy is expected to pick up next year. That's why I'm still not sure whether to buy one from the show. But it is highly likely that I will if I get the right offer."

An officer from Mazda Sales (Thailand) admitted that the show this year was not as successful as before. "It's the first time we have offered zero interest to customers who buy a Mazda 3 at the event," he said.

He insisted that sales of Mazda 3 hadn't fallen, rather the company wanted to increase its share of the C-car market.

He agreed that every company's sales in the medium to low-end market had slipped considerably this year. "I'm quite confident that none of the auto companies, selling pickup trucks, will enjoy their sales here," he said.

Premium cars did a little better because their target group still has high purchasing power, he said.

Kittiphan Kittiphotwilai, a 29-year-old interior designer, was walking around the Mercedes-Benz platform and making a decision to buy a car in the SLK class.

"The event isn't exciting. I don't feel that the platforms have interesting presentations and attractive promotions like they used to," he said.

Chatvithai Tantraporn, general manager of DaimlerChrysler's communications department, said the company had good feedback from customers. Over six days, more than 200 cars were reserved.

Last year it sold 400 cars at the show, mostly E- and S-class models.

"I don't believe that the bad economy will have an effect on our customers," he said.

However, not all auto firms are smiling. In the first three days of the show, which kicked off on March 30, only 3,000 units were sold. That's a drop of 30 per cent from last year's figure - suggesting a relatively low desire to spend in the present murky political and economic climate. In the same period last year, the show racked up sales of 4,332 units.

Most of the vehicles sold during the first three days were reserved on the first Saturday, according to organisers. The Toyota camp snatched the highest sales, of 1,400 units, followed by 800 Isuzus, 410 Chevrolets, 404 Hondas and 143 Mitsubishis.

As of the sixth day of the 10-day event, 6,500 vehicles had been reserved. The figure is less than half of the 14,000 orders placed during last year's edition.

If this show is used to gauge the health of the auto industry, the industry could be catching a mild cold. The relatively dull interest in the show follows a 20.8-per-cent fall in sales of Japanese autos during the first two months of the year. This has led to a fear that new car sales will contract this year.

Still, Suraphong Paisitpattanaphong, spokesman of the Automotive Industry Club (AIC), said if consumer confidence improves and the economy picks up, the industry would achieve its 3-per-cent growth target this year.

That would mean sales of 700,000 units, up from 682,000 last year, for an industry that accounts for 9 per cent of the economy.

In line with Thailand's dream to become the Detroit of Asia, the AIC has increased its export target from 545,000 vehicles last year to 606,000 this year.

But the baht's appreciation has seriously punished auto-makers, just like operators in other export-oriented industries.

"If the baht is still stronger than other currencies in the second half, we may have to reduce our export target too," he said.

The industry still hopes that it won't have to backtrack on its sales goals because oil prices are quite stable now and interest rates are heading down.

"However, if the government doesn't speed up its spending and control the baht's appreciation, I can't imagine what will happen to our industry this year," he said.

Despite the 21-per-cent drop in sales in the first two months, Capital Nomura Securities (CNS) still believes that automobile production will increase 5-7 per cent year to 1.25 million-1.28 million units, while domestic sales will increase 1-3 per cent for the whole year.

"We expect positive domestic sales from the second quarter, due to lower interest rates as well as the launch of at least three to four new models," CNS said. Auto exports are expected to rise 10-12 per cent this year, as Toyota Motor Thailand's export capacity expansion took off last month.

Although domestic and export sales are ramping up more slowly than last year - 3 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively - there is still growth in the lucrative auto sector.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation