Thailand's int'l auto show expected to draw 1.6 mln visitors

Thailand's int'l auto show expected to draw 1.6 mln visitors

The 26th Thailand International Motor Expo 2009 is expected to draw 1.6 million people with 32 brands offering promotions to raise bookings to 15,000 cars, organizer said on Tuesday.

Kwanchai Paphatphong, President of Inter-Media Consultant Co., Ltd. and Organizing Chairman of the Expo said at a press release.

The Expo, which will last till Dec. 13, is held under the concept "Driving .. for Sustainability" as the organizer wishes that all stakeholders co-operate in "driving" Thailand's auto industry to prevail over the economic crisis and attain sustainable success in the future.

Brands such as Audi, BMW, Chery, Chevrolet, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo, participate in the Expo. Visitors can also see many Concept and Outstanding cars, on exhibition only and not for sale.

"The number of car bookings at the Expo this year is likely to reflect the recently recovering economy at about 15,000 units, close to the 17,000 last year. Anyway, at the Expo last year, we initially forecast 15,000 cars and then along came a political strife so we revised the target down to 13,000 but the final number turned out to be as high as 17,000 units. So we hope the number this year will be close to or even better than that of last year," said Kwanchai.

"We expect the number of visitors from Dec. 2-13 will to reach 1.6 million as car companies have prepared so many attractive promotional offers to boost their last-quarter sales."

"What is very special is (Thailand's) Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will do the Motor Expo the honor of giving a special talk on the topic "The Way Forward for Thailand's Automotive Industry and Energy Usage" on Friday, followed by an open forum for car companies to exchange views on development of the Thai automotive industry," he added.