Lacklustre car sale anticipated in June
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The domestic automobile market is expected to remain lacklustre in June due to poor confidence in economic outlook, said an Toyota Motor Thailand executive.
"Though public spending effectively boosts the domestic economy, consumer confidence declined in May due to global economic uncertainties which still pressure Thailand's exports. Private investment continues to slow down," said Toyota senior vice-president Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont.
In May, a number of 56,942 vehicles were sold in Thailand, a decrease of 18.3 per cent from the same period last year, according to data compiled by the car company. Passenger car sales were down 21.1 per cent on year to 23,139 units. The one-tonne pickup truck sales also went down by 21.6 per cent to 25,850 units.
Car sales in the first five months of this year dropped by 15.9 per cent to 308,787 units. Passenger car sales dropped by 16.7 per cent as households became more watchful on spending.
Vudhigorn attributed the decrease in May to persistently high household debt and financial institutions' stringent lending rules. A fall in agricultural crops prices also pressured the purchasing power of those in the farm sector.
