New vehicle sales in Thailand rebounded by 10.7% to 57,254 units in January, from 51,715 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Federation of Thai Industries.
The country’s vehicle market looks to be recovering well from a very weak fourth-quarter of 2016, when sales fell by almost 14% after consumer sentiment was shaken by the loss of King Bhumibol Adulyadej last October.
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Private consumption growth in the country declined to 2.5% year-on- year in the fourth quarter, from 3.0% in the previous quarter.
The automotive industry’s celebrations were put on ice, however, after the FTI report also revealed exports fell by 14.5% year-on- year to 80,097 units last month, while the export value dropped by 18.1% to THB41.4bn (US$1.19bn).
The decline reflects a particularly sharp slowdown in overseas shipments of pickup trucks and derivatives, with demand in the Middle-east and Africa particularly weak.
Vehicle production last month increased by 3.1% to 152,261 units, driven by strong domestic demand.
