The Wheel Deal, Bike Production and Taxes.

Dec 27, 2007
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Ian Bungy;282430 wrote: This article I read in the Bangkok Post today. Looks interesting and explains the Big Bike Tax a bit Clearer. Zero Tax in 2017 if We can believe it? Sounds Great though doesn't it!
"The declining import tax on big bikes. Currently at 27%, the rate will decrease by 5 points each year until 2017 when it will be zero".

http://www.bangkokpost.com/auto/autoscoop/311720/the-wheel-deal
FYI, the declining import tax that the Honda rep is talking about is the result of the Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and Japan (http://www.thaifta.com/english/eng_jp.html) and therefore only applies to goods made in and imported from Japan. So far the appreciation of the Japanese Yen has for all intents and purposes cancelled out any "savings" we might have hoped to see from the reduction in import tax.
 
Jul 15, 2012
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27% is better then nothing. I dont think this will help too much as bikes are twice as much here. I assume they will not lower the excise or vat tax.....
 
Feb 5, 2007
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I would love to be proved wrong but after inflation, Distributor greed, and marketing as a status item, I suspect that we will be living for obscene pricing for some time to come.
 
Dec 27, 2007
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Hoghead;282464 wrote: I would love to be proved wrong but after inflation, Distributor greed, and marketing as a status item, I suspect that we will be living for obscene pricing for some time to come.
Yes and no. Seems to vary a lot from one brand to the next.

The Thai manufactured Ducatis are a LOT cheaper than the ones imported from Italy. Thai Ducati Diavel is a full 400k baht less than the Italian-made Diavel for example.

Kawasaki's imported bikes are quite reasonably priced, compared to the competition anyway. The Kawasaki Z1000 is made in Japan and at 550k Baht is by far the cheapest 1000cc bike in Thailand. The Kawasaki Vulcan is WAY cheaper than any of the other cruiser style bikes available in Thailand. Actually, I think Triumph and HD are the only brands other than Kawasaki that even offers "cruiser" style bikes in Thailand and we all know how expensive HD and Triumph are in Thailand.

Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki make cruisers but choose not to sell them in Thailand...

Triumph, even though they manufacture the twins right here in Thailand, continue to charge outrageous prices, simply because they can...

Still, in the grand scheme of things it's an exciting time to be a biker in Thailand- the choices of brands and models continues to increase and there's a bike for pretty much any budget these days and the grey market importers are still filling the holes that the official dealers neglect.

I'd prefer to look the Thai bike scene as a "glass half full" rather than a "glass half empty", but that's just me :)

:happy1: