Blow to car culture: Thailand bans second-hand vehicle imports

By Cole Pennington

Yesterday, April 17th, marked the day that car culture started to decline in Thailand.

The government has passed a ban on importing second-hand vehicles including motorcycles, sedans, SUV’s, pickups, and vehicles capable of carrying seven or more passengers.

Why ban these cars? Because people were using motorcycles with large engines to race, and selling illegally assembled vehicles, according to The Nation. What happened to caveat emptor? And what percentage of the population is racing motorcycles?

Stripping consumers of their freedom of choice seems like a not-so-thinly veiled attempt at limiting customers’ automotive choices to only domestically produced vehicles.

If you’re in the market for a second-hand car then you better rush to the local dealer quickly, because prices are only going to move in one direction: up.



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