Thailand’s new vehicle market expanded by over 5% to 47,622 units in August 2025 from depressed year-earlier sales of 45,190 units, according to the latest wholesale data released by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
August was the fifth 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. The Bank of Thailand has cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points four times in the last year, from a peak of 2.5% to 1.5%, to help support the domestic economy.
Economic activity in the country has picked up this year, with GDP growth accelerating to 3% year-on-year in the first half, driven mainly by strong export activity as producers stepped up overseas shipments ahead of new import tariffs in the US, which for Thailand were set at 19%.
Last month, the Thai vehicle market continued to be supported by strong sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which rose by 27% year-on-year to 9,246 units, mainly because Chinese automakers continued to ramp up local production to compensate for their earlier imports under the Thai government’s EV3.0 investment incentive programme.
In the first eight months of 2025, the Thai vehicle market was slightly higher at 399,619 units, compared with 399,611 units in the same period last year, with BEV sales surging by 52% to 72,274 units – accounting for 18% of total vehicle sales. The industry expects BEV sales to surpass 100,000 units this year, helped by new models and aggressive pricing.
Vehicle production in the country fell by 6% to 947,697 units year-to-date, driven lower mainly by a 12% drop in exports to 602,975 units, with demand affected by stricter emissions regulations in some key overseas markets and rising global competition from Chinese automakers. The FTI recently revised its full-year vehicle output forecast down to 1.4 million units, from 1.5 million units earlier this year.
The Thai government recently indicated that it was considering introducing scrappage incentives to encourage owners to trade in their old pickup trucks for new ones. Earlier this year, it launched a THB 5 billion loan-guarantee programme, which runs until the end of the year, to support pickup truck purchases by small and medium-sized businesses. This has not had a significant impact on pickup truck sales so far.
