At the recently concluded 2023 Thailand International Motor Expo, which ended on 11-December, a total of 53,248 cars were sold, a massive 45% increase over last year’s figure.

As expected, Toyota and Honda led the sales tally, making up 25 percent of total cars sold.

What has become the talking point, is that Chinese brands – BYD, Aion, MG, Changan, GWM, and Neta – made up 43% of total cars sold. The Chinese invasion into Thailand, a stronghold of Japanese marques, is very real.

BYD sold 6,119 units, lead by the Dolphin (3,041 units), Atto 3 (1,788 units), and Seal (1,290 units). The third placed BYD is separate from second placed Honda with just 30 units! Toyota still reigned supreme with 7,245 units sold.

Second-tier Japanese brands like Nissan recorded 2,459 units, Mazda 2,159 units.

China's GAC-Aion did 4,568 units, MG 3,568 units, Changan 3,549 units, GWM 3,524 units.

Amid the increasingly intense product offensive from these Chinese upstarts, the current product offerings by Toyota and Honda seem rather lackluster, relying on the tried and tested QDR values – Quality, Dependability, and Reliability – to hold their ground.

Of course, one must be mindful that sales in one motor expo don’t represent the full picture, as this is just a snapshot of a very Bangkok-centric car market.

Across Thailand, Toyota and Honda still control more than 40 percent of total new car sales – the second biggest car market in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. From January to November 2023, Toyota sold 241,844 units, Isuzu 141,671 units, Honda 84,516 units, while BYD did just 26,377 units, according to data compiled by Headlightmag.com.

Pick-up trucks like Isuzu D-Max and Toyota Hilux and B-segment sedans like the Honda City and Toyota Vios (sold there as Yaris Ativ) are the foundation of Thailand’s new car sales. Despite their loud chest thumping, no Chinese brand has delivered anything close to such models – the very kind of cars Southeast Asia needs.

Still, this doesn’t change the fact that the Chinese have established a very strong footing in Southeast Asia. Toyota and Honda need a stronger product strategy for Southeast Asia.

In terms of sales volume, Thailand’s domestic car market is still behind Indonesia, 849,388 units versus 1,048,040 units (in year 2022). However, a victory in Thailand is as Thailand is a much more vibrant economy, and the average price of cars sold in Thailand is higher than Indonesia, with a higher level of technology content too.

Thailand also produces and export more cars than Indonesia, 1,883,515 units versus 1,470,146 units (in 2022).