Average Prices for Used Cars Continue to Drop This Year, Reaching a 30

It is true that the first-time car buying scheme that was implemented and enforced by the government came to an abrupt end close to a year ago now. However, used car prices in Thailand continue to drop – damaging the market of brand new cars that are currently available, according to Japanese-Thai firm Apple Auto Auction in Thailand. This actual company is widely known as being a used-car auction arm of the MBK, a 50/50 venture that was conducted along with car auction specialist, Apple International Japan.

Apple Auto general manager, Chaowalit Kanjanont, stated that used-car prices have clearly dropped 30 percent from earlier on in the year – which is also a rather sharp decline in comparison to where these figures were back in 2012 when the tax rebate for first-time cars set the pace for the sales of new cars in general.
According to Mr. Chaowalit, the scheme was able to cause a major glut of vehicles found throughout the local market that were new and also used. Auto marketing will continue to remain aggressive to an extreme extent. He stated that the average pricing of passenger vehicles that are a couple of years old with a basic engine that reaches up to 1,800cc that was dipped from 200,000 to 240,000 baht directly from 300,000 up to 350,000 baht that was present last year back in October.

He stated that automakers along with used car dealerships, such as Thailand Motors, are usually known for targeting the same exact customer groups. However, brand new cars usually have a competitive edge over cars that have been used with much lower leasing rates and even attractive promotions as well. It is true that the sales of pickup trucks has also been greatly affected, but he stated that this particular segment is actually better off since the vast majority of first-time automobile buyers prefer to invest their money into passenger cars.

Most used car dealers, such as Thailand Motors, actually prefer to submit bids on pickup trucks even though the average pricing of these vehicles is usually down. Resale pricing for these vehicles actually dropped 20 percent to 500,000 baht last October. It was projected by Apple Auto that close to one million new vehicles sold in recent years would actually move directly into the market of used cars with up to 200,000 vehicles arriving directly from auction companies.

According to Mr. Chaowalit, the vast majority of customers actually want to contact used car dealerships, such as Thailand Motors, directly while many other auction companies buy used cars directly from financial institutions and automobile rental agencies as well as damaged automobiles from a variety of insurance firms.

It is the overall goal and objective of Apple Auto to have close to 500,000 vehicles throughout the year 2013, which is a heightened increase of close to 70 percent from 2012. A projected amount of 75 percent was estimated to be sold. The sales of slow vehicles caused the company to rent five rai within a one-hundred car parking lot located at Paradise Park and Bang Na-Trat Road to keep all of its inventory stored.