Thai September Vehicle Sales Soar, But Floods Expected to Slow Demand

New-vehicle sales soared 27.5% in Thailand in September to a record 87,012 units, but with rampaging flood waters sweeping the country and laying siege to the Thai capital, the record run is coming to an abrupt stop.

Toyota Thailand, which collates national statistics for the auto industry, says deliveries will decline this month, despite high bookings and increased in production capacity.

Toyota 1-ton pickup sales up 52.0%.

The September result saw passenger-car sales surge 29.6% to 40,685 units and commercial vehicles climb 25.7% to 46,327, including a 28.2% jump in 1-ton pickups deliveries to 40,087.

September’s booming new-vehicle demand followed a 20.3% spike in August, compared with year-ago, to a record 79,043 units.

Thai sales in the first nine months rose 20.6% to 670,969 units, with car deliveries up 25% to 302,020 and CVs, including 1-ton pickups, up 17.2% to 368,949.

Toyota Thailand Executive Vice President Wutthikorn Suriyachantanano warns the industry is about to be disrupted just weeks after finally recovering from the damage to its supply chain caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Vehicle sales in October will be affected by late delivery following Thailand’s serious floods, which have led to auto plant closings. “Several auto makers had to temporarily halt production due to the shortage of components and auto parts,” he says in a statement. “This will result in late delivery.”

Toyota, Honda and Mazda have closed their plants either because they are flooded or lack parts.

Labor Welfare and Protection Department Director General Arthit Ismo tells the Bangkok Post a total of 14,172 factories in 20 provinces have flooded, affecting 663,218 workers.

Japanese auto makers had raised production capacity to catch up with demand, but Thailand’s full-year estimate of 1.8 million vehicles now is in jeopardy.

Wutthikorn says the record sales in the past two months reflected growth in the economy that boosted consumer confidence and enhanced their purchasing power.

Now, he says, the market will fall despite the high volume of orders because some vehicles and parts plants will be shut down for some time. “The car companies cannot deliver the car as scheduled.”

The September result was led by Toyota, which saw overall sales surge 41.1% to 39,213 units, followed by Honda, up 24.2% to 12,439 and Isuzu, down 7.2% to 10,956.

Toyota’s new-car deliveries in the month jumped 35.8% to 17,117 units, followed by Honda, up 23.0% to 11,459 and Nissan, up 30.8% to 4,553.

The 1-ton pickup segment saw Toyota sales climb 52.0% to 20,279 units, with Isuzu down 8.3% to 9,968 and Mitsubishi up 81.6% to 5,145.

Toyota was the runaway sales leader for the year’s first nine months with an overall 13.3% gain to 255,617 units. Isuzu was a distant second, up 9.9% to 116,100, followed by Honda, down 10.7% to 73,318.

Toyota led new-car deliveries through September, up 25.8% to 122,031 units, for a 40.4% share. Honda followed, but was down 9.1% to 68,237. Nissan was third, up 75.8% to 36,818.

The 1-ton pickup truck segment was dominated by Toyota as well, up 5% to 120,466 units. Isuzu placed second, up 8.1% to 106,129 and Mitsubishi grabbed third, jumping 124.8% to 46,653.

Toyota led the total CV sector with sales up 3.9% to 133,586 units, followed by Isuzu, up 9.9% to 116,100.

Ford drew closer to Chevrolet in the race to claim the non-Japanese sales crown, with overall September deliveries surging 53.9% to 2,332 units. Chevrolet was up 19.8% to Ford’s 1,960.

Year-to-date, Ford led Chevrolet in new-car sales: 15,905 units vs. 11,731. However, the bowtie brand sold 11,255 CVs to Ford’s 6,941.

Chevrolet also holds a narrow 9-month lead, with overall sales up 67% to 22,986 units. Ford deliveries through September spiked 222.5% to 22,846.