Nissan eco-car is on track but excise tax cut needed

       Nissan says it is confident it can meet Board of Investment conditions to build 100,000 small, fuel-efficient eco-cars within five years but says excise taxes levied on the cars are too high.
       The Japanese carmaker is on track to become Thailand's first eco-car producer while its peers' projects look less certain.
       "Our project remains 100% on track and will never be delayed ... despite the deepening [economic] crisis," said Toru Hasegawa, the president of Nissan Motors Thailand.
       Nissan is expected to launch the ecocars in the Thai market next year. A company source said the car was expected to be launched before the Bangkok International Motor Show next March.
       "We will officially announce all the details of the Nissan eco-cars next month," said Mr Hasegawa.
       Many other automakers with BoI promotional privileges to build eco-cars have postponed their plans as they were unsure they could meet the conditions as both local and export demand have plunged. The BoI requires them to produce at least 100,000 eco-cars per year in the fifth year of operations.
       These companies want authorities to relax the annual output rule.
       The source said Nissan was not wor-ried about its eco-car output as its Japanese parent intends to shift small car production from Japan to Thailand in 2010 and then export them back to Japan and other countries.
       Car production in Japan has been hard hit by the strong yen.
       Mr Hasegawa said Nissan disagreed with changing the BoI regulation since carmakers had accepted the terms when their projects were granted privileges.
       "We play by the rules and we would not be happy if there were any changes in the Boi's regulation," he said.
       Nissan will invest about 5.5 billion baht to produce between 100,000 and 150,000 eco-cars in Thailand.
       Mr Hasegawa also questioned why the excise tax levied on eco-cars was higher than for hybrid electric vehicles.
       He said eco-cars would contribute significantly to Thailand's economy and generate many jobs because most parts are locally produced, while the cars are fuel efficient and environmentally friendly with low emissions. Hybrid electric cars, however, need imported parts for local assembly.
       Excise tax is 17% for eco-cars but only 10% on petrol-electric cars.
       At present, Toyota offers Camry hybrids in the Thai market while other carmakers are waiting to gauge market response to the Camry.