Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Thailand looks set to step into the second phase of its eco-car production scheme after its all-new Nissan Note debuted yesterday.
Marketing vice president Sureethip La-Ongthong Chomthongdee said that with the Note, Nissan has honoured its commitment to the Board of Investment, which requires eco-carmakers in the first phase to make three models of eco-cars.
Thailand embarked on the first phase of the eco-car scheme in 2007, attracting five manufacturers: Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota.
The government in late 2013 launched the second phase, enticing 10 carmakers to officially apply. Both phases carry Board of Investment (BoI) privileges.
The five newcomers are Mazda, Ford, General Motors, SAIC Motor-CP and Volkswagen. Mazda was the first player to produce second-phase eco-cars, while General Motors withdrew in 2015.
BoI regulations require each carmaker to make a minimum of 100,000 eco-cars annually from the fifth to the eighth year after kicking off production, while the second phase's regulations are tighter, requiring them to make 100,000 cars from the fourth to the eighth year.
For the first phase, only Mitsubishi and Nissan have honoured that commitment.
Under the second phase, which requires all applicant carmakers to roll out their new automobiles by 2019, only Mazda kicked off its eco-car operations in Rayong late in 2014.
"Nissan achieved output of 100,000 cars in 2015 and we've now made three models as promised," she said. "The next step is to study and plan production for the second phase of development for new generations of March and Note, including other small cars."
Nissan was the first manufacturer under the eco-car scheme to introduce multiple models: the March hatchback in 2010 and the Almera sedan in 2012.
Nissan eco-cars had the most accumulated sales in the country at 258,727 units as of last October, but was ranked in fourth place in terms of market share during that period, after Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki.
Nissan achieved the accumulated production of 500,000 eco-cars in July, half of which were exported to over nine countries, including Japan.
Mr Sureethip expects the Nissan Note to boost its sales performance as it has not launched a new eco-car over the past four years, excluding refreshed versions of the March and Almera.
The Note is powered by a three-cylinder 1,200-cc gasoline engine and is equipped with the latest safety technology.
At present, the Note is made in Japan, Thailand, Mexico and Britain.