Car sales in Thailand is expected to hit a million units this year, making it the highest level in five years, but a slowdown in the sector – brought about by increasing levels of household debt and an anticipated interest rate hike very soon – is anticipated in 2019, Reuters reports.
The performance this year will be the second straight year that car sales in the kingdom have climbed following four years of contracting sales up to 2016. In 2017, the TIV recorded 871,650 units, after a five-year ban on the sale of cars bought under a government subsidy scheme was lifted.
Things are expected to hit the million mark in 2018. “Sales are so strong that we have revised up this year’s target twice. We should see a million cars this year,” said Surapong Paisitpattanapong of the Federation of Thai Industries’ auto division.
It’s still well below the 1.44 million units managed in 2012, when the government car subsidy programme ended, and the general view is that 2019’s numbers won’t better that of this year. Analysts say household debt and increased interest rates may curb growth, and the research unit of Kasikornbank predicts car sales this year will rise 18% but then shrink by two to five percent in 2019.
A switch in strategy may help – with the government providing tax incentives for eco-friendly vehicles, automakers are shifting to hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) production in a bid to increase competitiveness. Thailand’s Board of Investment (BoI) has approved electric vehicle projects by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Mazda, Nissan and Honda, and Toyota is planning to begin production of HEV batteries in mid-2019 for its C-HR model.
The report adds that dealers are however not too optimistic about the market’s performance next year. “People who want to buy don’t have much spending power,” said Mazda Mahachai MD Sumete Patchuttorn.
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It’s the reason why Bangkok’s epic daily jams are just 2nd to Jakarta’s.
Both place is epic multihours jams in and jam out. Lolz!
In the 80s, Malaysia was the Detroit of Asia. Everybody set up CKD plants here. Then when Proton opened up and too much of protectionism given to Proton all car companies opened up in Thailand.
Past 25 years, Mat Salleh and Japanese companies have invested hundreds of billions (USD) in Thailand (RM Trillions) making it the Detroit of Asia.
This Trillions was supposed to go to Malaysia.
We also lost hundreds of thousands of jobs to Thai people.
“Past 25 years, Mat Salleh and Japanese companies have invested hundreds of billions (USD) in Thailand (RM Trillions) making it the Detroit of Asia.”
….meanwhile all money goes back to them, as basher logic said.
Shutup Swift & take my money now Suzuki Msia!!
Absolutely wrong Faiz!
Shutup X70 & take my money now Proton
Msia!!
Now it is correct!
One question for protiga founder: Did Thailand have a national car?
Internal sales and export sales total a staggering 1.7 Juta units easily!!!!!
I repeat to Tun….1.7 juta units!!!! Without any fanciful dream on national car….yet thousands of guaranteed jobs.
PROTIGA is due to intense lobbying by PH cronies for mega projects…Rakyat dont be fooled.
WE VOTED FOR REGIME CHANGE,NOT AND NEVER FOR PROTIGA !!!
Kunta, please read thru wikipedia Thai automotive industry before make you sound like a fool.
chilll it gais…
If Protiga launched then we will witness every P1 and P2 showroom changing their kedai name boards into Protiga with Protiga products. Habisla the failure P1 n P2
Because of our national car, all car prices went up 700% from 1985 to 2018.
Toyota Corolla in 1985 was RM20k. Today in 2018 the same Corolla Altis is RM139k. A good 700% increase
But the same Toyota Corolla in Japan from 1985 to 2018 only increased in price 50%
Malaysia 700% price increase from 1985 to 2018
Japan 50% price increase from 1985 to 2018
We must thank our wasted car industry, now sold to China.
Another bodo spread lies in paultan.
Cheapest Corolla in Japan is JDM Corolla Axio 1.5X manual which was smaller than our Vios that without radio, using steel rims and cost 1,500,000yen = RM56k
Does car price in other ASEAN remain the same since 1985? Car price in Thai, Indo, n Bolehland not much different with each other.
No. Thailand prices have surged ahead of us now. See my comparison below.
Basher still dreaming figures in his lalaland. Meanwhile in reality:
Camry 2.5 in Thailand – Rm 225k
Camry 2.5 in Malaysia – Rm 189k
A difference of Rm 36k. Basher failed in Maths just like the Lokes, the LGEs and the Khalids crawling in PH.
Lolz! Basher dah kantoi with his lies!
The reason bhind Protiga is TUN M dont want malaysian to stop dreaming and feel satisfied with PROTON N PERODUA achvmnt rite now….which both is under new owner direction rite now..Tun want malaysian to work hard to become innovator, not just user….an innovative nation is far more important than a nation that accept and using others product!….you will never failed a cntry if u offer new high income jobs to thousands
Why car? There a lot more innovation in other field eg plane, ship, rocket, train
Thai do have national brand called Thairung. To add more Indonesia has Esemka n Vietnam has Vinfast.
Imagine just tax 100 per car, it’s it’s 100million for gov , instead of feeding the cronies…and burning money..this 3rd car
Hello Tun M, is this statistic clear for you? Still in your national car dream land? WE do not want a 3rd national car if it involve government money in what ever form! Not the R&D investment, not the soft loan, or government guarantee letter! Any of above will end up like 1MBD, costing rakyat billions of non performance loan for GLC!