Local auto sales up 63.9% in August
Auto-makers are bullish on domestic new-vehicle sales, which climbed 63.9 per cent in August over the same month last year, showing local demand is on track to hit 1.2 million units this year.
"All producers in the month increased their output to speed up deliveries," Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont, senior vice president of Toyota Motor Thailand Co, said yesterday. "Still, there is a long wait for some models."
Last month saw sales of 129,509 vehicles, bringing the eight-month total to 867,703 units, an increase of 48.6 per cent, according to data compiled by the company.
Passenger cars were up 46.6 per cent, while commercial vehicles, including one-tonne pickup trucks, were up 57.4 per cent in the last eight months.
The growth momentum should continue this month, thanks to continued strong demand and deep inventory, he said.
According to the Automotive Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries, last month vehicle production soared 37.31 per cent to 210,333 units, of which 85,279 units were exported, up 18 per cent. In the first eight months, total production increased 33.02 per cent to 1.48 million units.
The FTI also confirmed that Thailand is heading for a new production record of 2.2 million units this year, up at least 51 per cent from 1.46 million units last year. Of the total, 1.2 million would be for the domestic market and 1 million for overseas.
Surapong Paisitpatanapong, spokesman of the club, said on Wednesday that at this rate, Thailand would become a global top-10 carmaker in five years, with annual output of 3 million units.
China is now the world’s largest, with 18.4 million units assembled in the first eight months. Next are the US, Japan, Germany, South Korea, India, Brazil, Mexico, Spain and France. Thailand ranks 15th with 1.46 million units.
The Automotive Industry Club is prepared to celebrate the 2 million-unit milestone in November, which has taken the local industry five decades to achieve.
