New vehicle sales in Thailand fell by 18.3% to 56,939 vehicles in May, from 69,681 units a year earlier, continuing a steep downward trend that started two years ago.
The May sales figures, released by the Federation of Thai Industries, come against very weak year earlier data when sales plunged by close to 38%.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The full year outlook for the Thai market has become increasingly negative with each passing month and some vehicle manufacturers now expect 2015 volumes to shrink by as much as 10% after plummeting by close to 34% to 881,832 units in 2014.
Depressed commodity prices, weak exports, low investment and high household debt continue to hold back buying activity while banks have increased car loan rejection rates as the risk of defaults increased.
Cumulative five month sales fell by 15.9% to 308,784 vehicles after a 42% decline to 367,094 units in the year earlier period.
One rare bright spot is the recent launch of the Toyota Hilux, the country’s best selling vehicle model, which may help encourage additional replacement purchases in the second half of the year.
