China's SAIC Motor entered the Thai pickup segment this week with the launch of its locally-made MG Extender.
The pickup truck, based on SAIC's Maxus T70, is produced by the company's local joint venture SAIC Motor-CP Co Ltd at its factory in the WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Chon Buri province.
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SAIC Motor-CP, through its local distributor MG Sales Thailand, plans to sell 20,000 Extender models annually in the country and will also target other markets in the region later on.
The company said the diesel-powered Extender has an initial local content rate of 50% and comes in two body variants – the spacecab which is priced at between THB549,000-THB729,000 (US$17,850-$23,700) and the double-cab priced at THB759,000-THB1,0300,000 ($24,680-$33,500).
Overall Thai production of pickup trucks last year exceeded 915,000 units, of which 447,000 units – or just under half – were sold domestically.
The Federation of Thai Industries estimates that average local content of Thai pickup trucks is 90% with Toyota estimated to have localised 95% of the content of its Hilux model.
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