SAIC Motor-CP, the Thai-Chinese car maker, is keen on becoming a new player in the local pickup segment, expecting to sell 20,000 pickups per year.
In Thailand, the pickup segment makes up 43.1% of the total automobile market with 225,508 pickups sold in the first half. Japanese rivals Toyota (Hilux Revo) and Isuzu (D-Max) control market shares of 37.6% (84,806) and 33.9% (76,438) of the pickup segment.
US-based Ford (Ranger) was in third place with 23,385 pickups sold, a 10.4% segment share. Other competitors are Mitsubishi Triton (8.1%), Nissan Navara (5.6%), Chevrolet Colorado (2.9%) and Mazda BT-50 Pro (1.4%).
Today SAIC Motor-CP introduced the locally-assembled MG Extender, its platform based on the Chinese pickup Maxus T70.
The car maker offers two categories with diesel engines: space cab (549,000-729,000 baht) and double cab (759,000-1.03 million baht).
Pongsak Lertruedeewattanavong, vice-president of MG Sales Thailand, SAIC Motor-CP’s local subsidiary, said the local pickup segment is dynamic enough for the MG brand to stand apart in this market.
“The pickup market has the potential to grow every year while each brand has its own dominant points to compete in this key market,” he said.
Mr Pongsak said the space cab category will focus on merchants and wholesalers while the double cab will target high-end buyers who drive pickups as passenger cars.
The Extender is made at its assembly plant at WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 2 in Chon Buri province.
“We will use both local and imported components and the initial stage of assembly will use 50% local content with plans to increase local content in the near future,” said Mr Pongsak.
Thailand’s pickup production now uses over 90% local content, according to the Federation of Thai Industries while Toyota claims to reach 95% local content for the Thai-made Hilux Revo.