FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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New models, promotions rev up auto market

New models, promotions rev up auto market

Auto sales in Thailand rose by 7.1 per cent during the first six months of the year thanks to continued introduction of new models as well as sales promotions by auto companies.


The president of Toyota Motor Thailand Co Ltd (TMT), Michinobu Sugata, said that a total of 523,770 vehicles were sold in the country during the first half of the year.
“This is another interesting year for the automobile market to test whether the good momentum from last year can be maintained. For the first six months, due to the introduction of new models and marketing activities of various brands auto sales rose,” he said at a press conference in Bangkok on Wednesday.
He said all market segments had experienced growth, with the passenger car market rising by 8.5 per cent (206,540 units) and the commercial vehicle market growing by 6.2 per cent (317,230 units).
“The market for the first half of the year has been better than our initial expectations based on the continued strength of the Thai economy. However in June, the auto market declined year on year for the first time in 30 months,” he said.
Sugata noted that Thai consumer sentiment, because of uncertainty in the global economy, may influence the auto market during the second half of the year. He said Toyota remained confident of the 2019 target of 1 million units being sold in the Thai market, which would still be a 4 per cent decline year on year.
“We expect the Thai auto market to maintain the 1-million-unit level for the second consecutive year,” he said.
Other forecasts include sales of 387,229 passenger car units (down 3.1 per cent) and sales of 612,769 commercial vehicle units including one-ton pickup trucks and pickup passenger vehicles.
Toyota, meanwhile, plans to maintain its 2019 sales target of 330,000 vehicles for a 33 per cent market share and 4.7 per cent growth year on year. Sugata said Toyota plans to launch more new models in order to achieve its target.
During the first half of 2019, Toyota exported a total of 138,538 vehicles, down 5 per cent year on year.
“We maintain our CBU [Completely Built Up] vehicle export forecast this year at 270,000 units with a negative growth of 8 per cent compared to last year, as a result of the ongoing difficult situation in the Central and South America and Oceania regions,” he said. “As for our production, our performance will be in alignment with the local and international auto market situation. As a consequence, our 2019 total production outlook continues to be 577,000 units, a 2 per cent reduction from last year.”
During the first six months, Toyota was the top-selling brand in the market with aggregate sales of 171,502 units (20.8 per cent growth, 32.7 per cent market share), followed by pickup expert Isuzu with 89,177 units (3.3 per cent growth, 17 per cent market share) and Honda with 64,699 units (8.1 per cent growth, 12.4 per cent market share).

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