Thailand car sales drop 65% in April from Covid effect

Thailand car sales drop 65% in April from Covid effect

It’s very much expected that new cars won’t be flying off showrooms in the current climate, and the latest figures from Thailand say the same. According to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) auto club, car sales fell 65.02% in April to 30,109 units, compared to the same month in 2019.

Last month’s dip is the 11th straight month that domestic car sales shrank after over two years of growth, according to the Bangkok Post, and the reason is of course Covid-19. In March, auto sales slid 41.74% year-on-year.

Last year, Thai new car sales eased 3.3% to one million units, compared to 2018’s 19.5% climb to 1.05 million units. 2019’s full year decline was the first in three years. It’s expected that 2020 will follow the downward trend.

In April, FTI said that Thailand’s auto production is expected to fall 37% to 1.33 million units this year, and the drop could be as bad as 50% (to one million units) should the Covid-19 crisis drags into June. The latest 1.33 million units forecast consists of 665,000 units for export and 665,000 units for domestic consumption, split evenly. Previous projections were two million units in January and 1.9 million units in March.

In Malaysia, total industry volume (TIV) for Q1 fell 25.61% y-o-y to 106,428 units. The Malaysian Automotive Association has made a downward revision to its 2020 TIV forecast, from 607,000 units to just 400,000. If that comes true, it would be the first time in 13 years that our TIV failed to pass the 500,000 mark.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • mr magoo on May 20, 2020 at 4:58 pm

    anyone bworsing paultan.org via mobile browser having ads redirect issue? seems like lots of time bworsing paultan page my browser redirect to ads page

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Datuk on May 20, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    Thats not too bad. Even Ikea Thailand reopened have to closed back due to sardine packed crowd.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Low Hock Huat on May 20, 2020 at 5:24 pm

    Where’s our vehicle sales.repirt for Apr? China drop 80%, Thailand 65%. Ours easily 60-70% drop. As for May also won’t increase much as car sales moving slow pace even after Cmco opened….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Celup King on May 20, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    Habislah Thailand! Better sell whole country to China. lol

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 1
  • vivizurianti on May 20, 2020 at 11:49 pm

    Well, the entire world car sales dropped. Not just Thailand.

    Anyway, keep calm and celebrate Raya.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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