Thai vehicle sales unlikely to meet 2014 target

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Last month, it was reported that Thailand was finally set to lose its position as Southeast Asia’s largest automotive market this year to Indonesia. This is almost a certainty, because the projected 1.2 million vehicle target for 2014 might be revised downwards sometime in the middle of the year.

In March, data from the Federation of Thai Industries showed that auto sales in the Kingdom fell by 45% percent year-on-year. Projected total sales for 2014 was 1.175 million units, which would be a drop of 11.7% from 2013.

Now, it’s looking like that even that is unlikely to be reached – total sales for the first three months was just 224,171 units, nearly 46% less than in Q1 last year.

The Bangkok Post reports that the newly-appointed chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, Ong-arj Pongkijworasin, said the federation may look to revise its domestic sales projection in the middle of the year, given that monthly sales in the first quarter didn’t reach 100,000 units per month.

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Accordingly, production volume also went down in March by 29% from the same period last year, with 181,334 vehicles built. In the first three months of 2014, total car production in Thailand amounted to 517,492 units, a drop of nearly 29% year-on-year.

Exports, however, climbed to a six-month high in March, and the 113,313 units shipped out that month made for a 8.77% increase from March 2013.

Many factors have contributed to the slump in domestic sales, including the end of government incentives for first-time car buyers and a slowing economy. Consumer purchasing power is down, eroded by high household debt, and the ongoing political situation is unlikely to help further.

Comparatively, Indonesian sales are projected to increase 6.5% to 1.31 million units this year, so as it goes the region should have a new No 1 automotive market at the end of the year, and by a very clear margin at that.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • kzm (Member) on May 02, 2014 at 11:39 am

    People will start talking bout boleh production not sales.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 1
    • Pat Pong on May 02, 2014 at 3:18 pm

      Proton sales in Thailand is as rare exclusive as VW, Lexus, Volvo…60-70 units monthly…salesmen must be bored to death showroom sunyi sepi no visitors…

      So yes Proton is very premium brand in Thailand…bravo Proton, bravo DRB, bravo Tun penasihat! clap clap clap!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 16
  • Lemer on May 02, 2014 at 12:53 pm

    Some halucinated folks here will start talking how car assembly plant production in Indonesia and Thailand are mile ahead in number than Malaysia, and that’s all because national-brand car mistake.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 10
    • Pat Pong on May 02, 2014 at 3:21 pm

      Lots of delusional macai cannot understand Thailand, Indonesia without national car yet still have far bigger automotive industry employing millions of kuli exporting for global market.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 1
      • BLUR SOTONG on May 02, 2014 at 6:18 pm

        Yes . Indonesia is more willing to sign TPPA .
        Whilst Bolehland will just sit and see lo.
        Wait till 2020, we become so called high income nation first lo …. And wait till Proton can earn more than rm 500 per car through export lo .

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 4
    • Proton is not a brand, it is a junk.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 2
 

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