New vehicle sales in Thailand fell by 2.3% to 72,404 units in March, from 74,117 units a year earlier, according to a monthly report from the Federation of Thai Industries.
Consumer spending remained subdued as the country's economy continued to struggle to gain momentum after the 2014 military coup.
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Last month's Bangkok International Motor Show failed to lift the market amid a lack of important new model launches. The show's organiser, Grand Prix International, said exhibitors reported just 32,571 orders this year – a drop of 12% compared with last year.
First quarter sales in the country fell by 8.3% to 181,318 units, compared with 197,734 units in the same period a year ago.
Vehicle exports fell by over 14% to 109,334 units in March and by 6.2% to 307,760 in the first quarter – valued at US$4.7bn. Around 70% of exports went to other Asian countries, Oceania and the Middle-East, according to the federation.
Vehicle production rose by 8.2% to 192,811 units in March as automakers pushed for a recovery in the domestic market in the coming months. First quarter output amounted to 506,874 units.
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