May LV Sales Reflect Post-Coup Thai Consumer Jitters

With the coup leaders solidly in control, new-vehicle sales in Thailand plunged 37.7% year-on-year in May to 69,681 units as consumers held onto their money, waiting to see how political events played out.

Toyota Thailand, which collates statistics for the Thai industry, says new-car deliveries fell 44.4% to 29,330 units, while commercial deliveries dropped 33.6% to 40,351, including the important 1-ton pickup segment off 33.6% to 32,963.

After five months, the Thai market was down 42.2% to 367,112 units with the new-car market off 50.1% to 150,780 units and the CV segment down 34.9% to 216,332.

Senior Vice President Wutthikorn Suriyachantanano says the political events and an economic downturn are influencing consumer psychology with both businesses and households being careful about investing and spending.

Adding to the pressure on the junta, the European Union suspended the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Thailand and all official visits to and from the country until a democratically elected government is in place.

Wutthikorn says June traditionally is a top-selling month and the industry is hoping for a more relaxed political situation as reaction to last month’s military coup – after months of street protests and governmental deadlock – will result in a more positive outlook by consumers.

“However, economic conditions in the country have slowed since the beginning of the year and need time to recover, along with confidence in the private sector,” he says in a statement.

Toyota led the Thai market in May with deliveries down 32.8% to 25,556 units for a 36.7% market share. Isuzu followed, down 26.8% to 13,649 units, well ahead of Honda, off 60.2% to 8,641.

The shrinking car segment saw Toyota sales fall 28.4% to 11,686 units, ahead of Honda, off 60.6% to 7,933 and Nissan, down 29.5% to 2,385.

The CV segment saw Toyota deliveries tumble 36.1% to 13,870 units, ahead of Isuzu, down 26.8% to 13,649 and Ford, moving into third place thanks to a 26.1% improvement to 2,742.

Within the segment, the 1-ton pickup market was led by Toyota, down 35.4% to 13,118 units, just ahead of Isuzu, off 22.8% to 12,637 and Mitsubishi, down 48.6% to 2,359.

Year-to-date, Toyota continued to dominate the Thai market, despite deliveries falling 31.5% from like-2013 to 136,454 units. Isuzu was a distant second, down 32.1% to 69,760, ahead of Honda, off 66.5% to 38,196.

Car sales were paced by Toyota, down 22.8% to 63,655 units, while Honda was off 66.8% to 33,563 and Nissan slumped 63.3% to 14,647.

Toyota also continued to lead CV sales despite a 37.7% skid to 72,799 units, with Isuzu down 32.1% to 69,760. Mitsubishi was a distant third, down 48.3% to 15,399 units.

In the 1-ton truck segment, Toyota deliveries were down 36.6% in May to 68,795 units. Isuzu fell 29.6% to 64,860 and Mitsubishi dropped 48.3% to 15,399. Taking less of a hit in the plunging market was Ford, which saw its sales drop just 4.9% to 3,378 units thanks to demand for the redesigned Ranger pickup (1,939) and EcoSport SUV (719).

Managing Director Yukontorn Wisadkosin tells The Nation newspaper that Ford continued to make significant gains with a 4.9% share of the market, up 1.7 percentage points from May last year.

“The industry remained challenging in May but we continued to make progress on our ongoing product-led transformation in Thailand, as the Ford brand appeal increasingly strengthens among consumers,” Yukontorn says.

Mazda Sales Thailand Public Relations Manager Uthai Ruangsak says the automaker will be more than satisfied if it ends the year with sales of 50,000 units, albeit well down from 2012 (52,914) and 2013 (73,764).

“Our sales are returning to normal after seeing a phenomenal surge in the last two years,” he tells the Bangkok Post. “But the sales goals we’ve set are considered high for these times of economic and political difficulty.”

Mazda’s May sales fell 40.5% to 2,727 units for a 5-month total off 47.4% to 14,107.