I’ve always wanted to go to Asia’s largest motor show, but never got around to it in all of my years living in Thailand. This year, I made the effort, and it coincided with my birthday, so we made a weekend of it and met up with the boys.
The irony is that it also happened during a war in the Middle East, and the resultant fuel crisis has hit Southeast Asian nations particularly hard. Diesel prices in Thailand have skyrocketed more than 30% over the past week, and fuel stations have run dry in Bangsaphan due to panic buying and hoarding.
The show was at the Impact Arena in Nonthaburi, which is a sprawling exhibition center, the size of a small airport.
The crowds were remarkably thin when we arrived at 11am, and Luke had secured express tickets, so no queues for entry. Maybe the motorcycle gods were trying to tell me something, but the first stand we saw was Ducati.
What followed was an array of Mercedes, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Maserati bling at eye-watering prices. Only in Thailand can a car cost many times more than the average house!
There were quite a few executive camper vans and trailers, but the main attraction was the EVs, with over 60% of the vehicles being electric or hybrids. The Tesla and BYD stands were the busiest, bustling with affluent Thais eyeing million-baht-plus EVs amid the fuel crisis. Chinese companies dominated, with many brands that I’d never heard of and some seriously impressive tech.
The big draw for me (and the boys) was the motorcycles with all the big Japanese manufacturers present, plus Harley Davidson, Royal Enfield, and Triumph – the latter two having the best bikes for my liking (Guerilla and Scrambler)… well, apart from the Yamaha R9, which was seriously sexy!
We were also on the lookout for a small electric motorcycle, but there was very little on display, and those that were had astronomical price tags, such as a BMW scooter for 479,000 baht (£11,000). They clearly haven’t really penetrated Thai markets yet.
There were very few of the models or “pretties” usually draped over the bonnets at these shows, as the state prudes had banned such frivolities, so most were suited and booted sales professionals. I expected a much larger event, and we were around it all in about three hours, but impressive it was – sadly, all we could afford was lunch afterwards!
