'Green' people-carriers.

(From Bangkok Post)

Byline: RICHARD LEU

The "grey" market is sometimes a useful gauge for car manufacturers, in which demand for a specific kind of vehicle or model can be assessed before making official sales.

Take Lexus, for example. Before the Japanese luxury make took the Thai market seriously, independent importers enjoyed considerable sales success of the Toyota Harrier (Lexus RX300) and Land Cruiser Cygnus (Lexus LX470).

Now that Lexus is selling these two models with more heart, the grey marketers are turning to Toyota's hybrid-powered vehicles which are still mostly confined to the Japanese market.

The SEC Group, a renown independent importer, has started imports of the Estima and Alphard late last year and has claimed to deliver some 100 units …