Thai Auto Sales Surge Continues Unchecked in August

New-vehicle sales in Thailand soared 63.9% in August to 129,509 units as customers flooded sales rooms and placed orders faster than factories could build the products.

Car deliveries jumped 71.7% to 61,044 units and commercial vehicles climbed 57.4% to 68,465, including 1-ton pickups that soared 61.9% to 60,389.

Toyota Thailand, which collates industry data in the Southeast Asian country, says the latest result boosted 8-month sales 48.6% to 867,703 units. Car deliveries totaled 382,984, up 46.6%, while 1-ton pickups and other commercial vehicles grew 50.2% to 484,719.

Toyota Thailand Executive Vice President Wutthikorn Suriyachantananon says he expects the momentum to continue in September.

“All producers in the month increased their production capacity, to quicken delivery process,” Wutthikorn says in a statement, “but there are also some popular car models with (a) high number of pending deliveries. The camp (industry) has the capacity. As a result, it can deliver even more cars to customers.”

Toyota dominated the market in August with sales rising 38.5% to 44,478 units, ahead of Isuzu, up 44.5% to 18,933, and Honda, surging 146.8% to 18,162 as it bounced back from its flood-affected prior-year result.

The car segment saw Toyota on top with deliveries growing 24.0% to 19,533 units, followed by Honda, spiking 154.9% to 17,815, and Nissan, advancing 55.3% to 6,606.

Toyota topped CV deliveries with 24,945 units, a 52.6% improvement, followed by Isuzu, up 44.5% to 18,933, and Mitsubishi, up 25.9% to 7,522. Within the segment, Toyota led sales of the 1-ton pickups with 22,730 units, a 58.6% increase, ahead of Isuzu, rising 44.8% to 17,661 units.

Year-to-date, Toyota deliveries totaled 334,183 units, 54.4% ahead of like-2011, while Isuzu was up 26.5% to 132,957 units and Honda improved 42.9% to 86,979.

Toyota car sales rose 40.0% to 146,878 units through August, outpacing Honda, up 49.5% to 84,902, and Nissan, surging 71.7% to 55,408.

The CV market saw Toyota deliveries jumping 68.0% to 187,305 units, with Isuzu up 26.5% to 132,957 and Mitsubishi ahead 40.6% to 58,378. In the 1-ton truck segment, Toyota surged 72.5% to 172,837 units, followed by Isuzu, up 26.5% to 121,652.

August also was a fruitful month for the U.S. contingent.

Chevrolet soared 137.2% to a record 7,331 units for the month, easily beating the old mark of 6,301 set in March. The result was driven by deliveries of 3,199 Colorado pickups and 1,307 Trailblazer SUVs. After eight months, Chevrolet volume was up 118% to 45,768 units.

Ford scored a fourth consecutive month of record sales with an August result spiking 130.8% to 6,175 units.

Ford passed the 6,000-unit mark in Thailand for the first time as deliveries of the all-new Ranger pickup accelerated 264% to a record 2,724, the all-new Focus jumped 368% to 923 and the Fiesta maintained its segment leadership, growing 50% to 2,437.

Ford’s year-to-date sales climbed 61.9% to 33,222 units.

Mazda also posted record sales in August, soaring 86.9% year-on-year to 7,291 units for an 8-month total up 61.3% to 44,933 units.

Mazda Thailand Managing Director Choichi Yuki says Thailand’s auto market has witnessed an amazing recovery after last year’s flood crisis. The auto maker is accelerating vehicle deliveries to customers but still has 20,000 back orders with new orders still arriving.

“Mazda has been continuously coordinating with the assembly factory in adjusting production strategies as well as raising capacity,” Yuki says in a statement. “We have invested TB800 million ($25.9 million) to raise pickup production and have lowered the ratio of vehicle exports to give more priority to Thai customers.”

Yuki attributes the demand to the government program offering sizable tax rebates to first-time car buyers.

Thai auto makers also are seeing increased demand in the export market, with shipments gaining 18% year-on-year in August to 85,279 units.

Federation of Thai Industries Automotive Industry Club spokesman Surapong Paisitpatanapong says exports over the year’s first eight months rose 16.0% to 639,986 units.

The Bangkok Post quotes Surapong as saying Thailand will become a global top-10 vehicle producer within the next five years, with annual output reaching 3 million units.

Thailand was the 15th-largest producer of all types of motor vehicles last year, ranking sixth in CV builds and 22nd in car output.

Surapong says next year's domestic market looks healthy, while the automobile and auto-parts sectors are among the few to weather the debt crisis in Europe that has curtailed almost all other Thai exports.

Thailand’s August production exceeded 200,000 units for the fourth consecutive month, climbing 37.3% to 210,333 compared with like-2011. This put production ahead 33% to 1.48 million units in the first eight months, and the industry is confident full-year output will exceed 2 million.