Jaturont Komolmis, senior vice president of Grand Prix International, a local publisher of auto magazines, and chairman of the organising committee of the Bangkok Used Car and Supercar Show, said demand for used cars had increased in each of the past three years. Sales jumped 15 per cent in 2009 and 20 per cent last year. Another 25-per-cent increase is anticipated for this year.
"Car ownership in Thailand is at the ratio of nine persons per car, which is the highest in Asean and fourth in Asia after Japan, China, India and South Korea," Jaturont said.
He said that in the United States, the ownership ratio was 3.8 per car.
Thailand is a production hub for vehicles, supplying both the domestic and export markets. About 2 million cars are targeted to be produced locally this year, increasing to 2.5 million units by 2014.
Jaturont said Thailand was the world's 14th-largest car producer.
He said the used-car market would continue to grow as second-hand vehicles changed hands more quickly than new ones.
The average price of a used car is about Bt500,000, much cheaper than a new vehicle, for which prices average around Bt1 million.
"We have found that owners of new cars keep them for an average of four or five years before trading them in. Used cars change hands every one and a half to two years.
"Based on this, demand for used cars can be four to five times as high as for new cars."
Jaturont said there were more than 2 million new graduates every year, many of them entering the workforce right away.
"From our survey, cars will be the first items first-jobbers choose to buy once they are earning a salary, as they want to make life more convenient."
He said this was quite different from developed markets, where more than 50 per cent of first-jobbers make buying a house their first priority. Cars have become less important in many developed markets with good mass-transport systems.
The third Bangkok Used Car and Supercar Show kicked off yesterday and will be held until July 31 at Challenger 2-3, Impact Muang Thong Thani.
The auto extravaganza features more than 10,000 pre-owned and imported cars, with prices ranging from Bt200,000 to Bt10 million. The company is confident that the fair will be a great success, targeting 30 per cent more sales than at last year's event.
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