Thailand’s new vehicle market rose by just over 7% to 59,865 units in March 2026 from 55,798 units a year earlier, according to the latest data released by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), driven by strong sales of electrified vehicles.
The market last month resumed its year-long recovery, following two years of sharp declines, after a moderate year-on-year decline in February. The FTI’s generally-secretary, Surapong Paisitpatanapong, told reporters that last month’s sales growth was driven mainly by deliveries of vehicles purchased at the recent Bangkok International Motor Show. He pointed out that more than half of the 100,000 bookings made at the show were for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), mostly by Chinese automakers.
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The FTI’s data shows that BEV sales surged by almost 48% to 12,074 units last month, while sales of passenger hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) increased by 24% to 14,895 units.
In the first three months of 2026, Thailand’s domestic vehicle market expanded by almost 19% to 182,083 units, from 153,193 units a year earlier, driven by a 54% surge in January. Sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger vehicles fell by 24% to 30,847 units in this period, while sales of passenger BEVs surged by 121% to 50,141 units, and passenger HEVs increased by 21% to 40,230 units. Sales of ICE pickup trucks fell by just under 5% to 38,493 units.
Vehicle production in the country rose by over 5% to 369,751 vehicles year-to-date, while exports fell by 2% to 219,994 units, with shipments to the Middle East affected by the US conflict with Iran.
Earlier this year, the Federation said it expected vehicle production in the country to reach 1.5 million units this year, including 550,000 for sale domestically and 950,000 for export. GlobalData expects domestic light vehicle sales to decline slightly to 613,000 units in 2026, after growing by 9% to 617,000 units last year, with the market forecast to rebound by almost 12% to 684,000 units in 2027.
