Car sales show sharpest plunge in 13 years
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Vehicle sales in October plunged for the first time since 2009, by 40.5 per cent on year in light of severe flooding in Bangkok, according to data compiled by Toyota Motor Thailand.
The total number of vehicles sold in the month was just 42,873 units, comprising 19,852 passenger cars and 23,201 commercial vehicles. Respectively, the number showed a 38.8 per cent and 41.8 per cent decline from the same period last year. In the commercial segment, 1tonne pickup trucks also witnessed a 44.3 per cent decline in monthly sales to 18,861 units.
Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont, senior vice president, said that the sale figures showed the sharpest plunge in 13 years. Demand nosedived heavily in 1998, following the 1997 financial crisis.
“The flood disaster forced several assembly plants, though not directly affected, to suspend production early in the month due to the shortage of components and parts,” he said.
He noted that the situation should improve in November, as several carmakers attempt to resume operations.
Toyota, Mazda and Nissan have announced that the operations would resume this month.
