mmc thai factory

Earlier this week, we read that Thai car production hit the highest point (256,581 units in November) since it began there in 1961, and it turns out that last month also saw monthly vehicle exports exceed the 100,000-unit mark for the first time since the Kingdom began shipping cars out in 1988.

Vehicle exports hit a record 100,225 units worth 46.6 billion baht last month, up by 1,502% year-on-year, according to the Federation of Thai Industries’ automotive industry club. The huge y-o-y jump is of course due to last year’s big flood which halted production, but it’s still a sign that not only is business back on track, it’s booming.

Year-to-date exports reached 940,374 units worth 449 billion baht, up by 34.2% year-on-year in volume and 37.7% in value.

The federation’s spokesman said the Thai auto industry is set to produce 214,988 vehicles this month, bringing the 2012 total to 2.45 million, a record high for the country. It’s not just exports that are fuelling the demand – year-to-date domestic sales rose by 74.5% year-on-year to 1.29 million vehicles.

In contrast to last year’s water woes, it’s happy days for the Detroit of the East. So, no pressure then, for the people charged with forming our National Automotive Policy (NAP) review!

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