Thailand’s new vehicle market rebounded by almost 25% to 47,032 units in October 2025 from depressed year-earlier sales of 37,691 units, according to the latest wholesale data released by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

October was the seventh consecutive month of growth for the market, after two years of sharp declines as the country’s highly indebted consumers and small businesses struggled to access vehicle financing after local banks tightened lending rules. Private consumption growth was steady at 2.6% year-on-year in the third quarter, underpinned by four 25-basis-point interest rate cuts by the central bank in a little over a year to 1.5%.

The vehicle market last month continued to be driven higher by surging demand for electrified vehicles, with deliveries of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) jumping by 128% year-on-year to 8,479 units - ahead of the expiry of government incentives at the end of the year, while sales of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) surged by 98% to 12,354 units. By contrast, deliveries of internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger cars dropped by 18% to 9,504 units and sales of ICE pickup trucks were down by 7.5% to 10,046 units.

In the first ten months of 2025, the Thai vehicle market expanded by 4% to 495,001 units, compared with 476,345 units in the same period last year. BEV sales amounted to 89,964 units in this period, accounting for more than 18% of total vehicle sales, as Chinese automakers stepped up the launch of new models, along with aggressive pricing and extended battery warranties.

Vehicle production in the country fell by 6% to 1,211,486 units year-to-date, driven lower by a 10% drop in exports to 771,634 units, with demand affected by stricter emissions regulations in some key overseas markets and rising global competition from Chinese automakers. The FTI now expects full-year vehicle output to reach 1.45 million units in 2025.