British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover Automotive is upbeat about sales prospects in Thailand over the next five years, citing the country's promising luxury car segment.
According to Robin Colgan, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Asia-Pacific, the luxury car market in Thailand has been as strong as other markets in Southeast Asia, with high demand for both sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and passenger cars.
Thai consumers, meanwhile, are open to high-end vehicles because of their rising incomes, Mr Colgan said.
"At present, the Thai luxury segment represents roughly 4-5% of the overall car market which I believe has plenty of room to grow, compared with as high as 10% of the total car markets in many developed countries," he said.
Mr Colgan also attributed its sales prospects to the partnership with Inchcape, the British automotive retail and services company, as the new exclusive importer and distributor of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles and parts in Thailand.
Earlier, the Jaguar and Land Rover brands were sold by authorised distributor and service provider City Automobiles Co, an affiliate of global automotive company RMA Group.
Inchcape set up a local subsidiary, Inchcape Thailand Co, in July with registered capital of 100 million baht. The company will handle the import and distribution of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles and parts in Thailand.
"We will run the sole outlet and service centre on Rama IV Road to support all Jaguars and Land Rovers in the country, while our partner is conducting a feasibility study during to expand the network in major provinces to support sales growth in the future," Mr Colgan said.
Inchcape Thailand's Charnchai Mahantakhun and Jaguar Land Rover's Robin Colgan pose with the all-new Jaguar F-Pace SUV at yesterday's press briefing.
As of October, there were 10,437 Land Rovers and 2,340 Jaguars registered in the country. The Jaguar brand is categorised as more premium than Land Rover.
From January-October this year, Land Rover sold 41 units, and Jaguar 36.
Last year, Land Rover sales totalled 49 units, down sharply from 107 in 2014, while Jaguar sold 73, up from 57 in 2014.
Charnchai Mahantakhun, managing director of Inchcape Thailand, said that given Jaguar's strong sales, the company is set to beef up the brand in the Thai market.
Inchcape yesterday introduced the all-new Jaguar F-Pace SUV with prices in the range of 4,699,000-5,999,000 baht.
Mr Colgan said the parent firm is keen to import the Jaguar I-Pace, an electric vehicle, as part of the government's policy to promote EV production.