PHUKET vehicle sales have fallen in 2009, in line with an overall slowdown in business across the island.

Motor vehicle dealers are blaming the increasing uncertainty about the economy combined with finance companies setting more restrictive conditions for car loans.

Vehicles in the mid- and low-price range are seeing the most dramatic drop in sales.

Several vehicles are on display at the Andaman Innovation Motor Show 2009 at Central Festival, which runs until March 18.

Vehicle retailers sellers hope that having the shiny new cars on display will convince jittery buyers to open their purse strings, but based on sales for the first two months of this year, it may prove to be a tough sell.

Phuketwan surveyed local dealers on their vehicle sales for 2009:


In January 2009, 135 vehicles were sold compared with sales of 250 vehicles in January 2008, a drop of 46 percent. February had a similar rate of decline, with 164 vehicles sold this year compared with 300 sold in February 2008. We had projected lower sales this year, but these figures are even lower than our forecasts. We expected to sell 194 vehicles in January and 188 in February. Of the vehicles sold about 60 percent are sedan cars and 40 percent are pickup trucks. Foreign buyers represent about 40 percent of the market. From October 2008 to March 2009, our sales are down 25 percent over the same time period last year. Toyota Phuket is making plans to save internal costs and we are adding a new campaign to boost sales. The big reason that customer numbers are down is because the financial company has added conditions to its lending that make it more difficult to buy a car. The minimum down payment has risen from 10 percent to 20 percent.
Comments from a manager at Toyota Phuket


Sales for January were up slightly with 136 vehicles sold this year compared with 123 cars sold in January 2008. In February 2009 we sold 119, a 25 percent drop compared with February 2008 when we sold 159 cars. If you look at ''bookings'' of cars, the numbers are down for both months of this year. For January 2008 we had 182 bookings, while in January this year 139 cars were booked, down about 23 percent. In February 2008 there were 193 vehicle bookings and for February 2009 we had 125 cars booked, down by 35 percent. The slowing economy is causing a problem and the financial companies are setting tougher conditions on down payments, raising them to 20-25 percent, up from 10 percent. As well, people are being more careful not to spend their money. About 20 percent of our customers are foreign buyers. To boost sales we plan to make a mini motor show and join the Andaman Innovation Motor Show at Central Festival to March 18.
Comments from a sales & marketing manager


In January 2009 total sales were 31 compared to 95 in the same month the previous year. In February 2009, 66 were sold compared to 89 in the previous year. The economy is the big problem, with finance companies making it more difficult to buy vehicles. The most popular model, the D-Max Highlander, is popular with 95 percent of Thai customers. The showroom has been open for 10 years but this is the worst year ever. We have good relations with our customers and have joined in the Andaman Innovations Motor Show at Central Festival.
Comments from Isuzu manager, Somchai Srinumtong


We opened the showroom in Phuket in May 2008 and in that first month we sold 36 cars. At that time petrol prices were high so there was a lot of interest in our cars. In January 2009 we sold about 20 cars, while in February 2009 we sold 13 cars. Our sales have dropped 50 percent this year. Most of our customers are younger working people, about 90 percent Thai. Of the foreigners who have bought Protons, most are residents who lived in Malaysia before. Now we sell only a mini-sedan car, the Savvy, at a price of 399,000 baht. Soon we plan to launch a sedan car at the same price, and in the second quarter of this year we will launch another model, the Savvy Light, which will be priced even lower than the Savvy.
Comments from Pongnarin Srisombut, Sales & Marketing Manager


The showroom opened in May 2008 and since then we have been selling an average of three cars a month, in line with our expectations. In December 2008 we had only one sale, a booking from the Andaman Motor Show at Central Festival Phuket. The airport blockade had little effect on our sales. Our main customers are wealthy business people, about 90 percent Thai. Sales have so far remained steady. For this year, consumers are facing economic problems so Volvo is offering special promotions, such as a low down payment of 25 percent and no interest on monthly payments for 60 months.
Comments from Suttee Thaninvivate, Sales Manager