Thailand Opens New Year With Double-Digit Sales Jump

Thailand began the new year with a January result up 10.5% to 57,254 units as new models drew buyers into showrooms.

Toyota Thailand, which collates industry results, says the car segment rose 23.5% from year-ago to 20,228 units while the commercial-vehicle market climbed 4.5% to 37,026, including 30,612 deliveries of 1-ton pickups, a 4.6% increase.

Despite the healthy year-on-year growth, the January result was down 34.1% from December.

Toyota Thailand Vice President Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont says January sales were helped by a government economic-stimulus package, rising agricultural exports and prices and increased spending by consumers during New Year festivities.

Toyota started the year where it left off in 2016 leading the sales charts, despite dropping to second in two of the segments.

Toyota’s January light-vehicle sales rose 9.2% to 15,115 units, with Isuzu up 19.5% at 13,197 units and Honda jumping 40.1% to 7,866.

Honda edged out Toyota atop the car segment, with deliveries rising 38.0% to 5,940 units and Toyota up 67.0% at 5,834. Mazda followed, down a disappointing 9.6% at 2,160 units, despite its launch of the new Mazda3.

Isuzu topped the CV segment behind a 19.5% year-on-year increase to 13,197 units, while Toyota dropped 10.3% to 9,281. Mitsubishi was a distant third, down 2.6% at 3,460.

Within the CV segment, the important 1-ton pick up market saw Isuzu up 19.9% at 12,107 units, Toyota off 10.8% at 8,628, and Mitsubishi down 3.6% at 3,460.

Ford began the year strongly, with sales soaring 34.8% to 3,469 units, while Chevrolet continued to struggle, down 1.4% at 1,127.

Ford’s car sales plunged 68.9% to just 42 units, but its CV deliveries soared 40.5% to 3,427, good enough for fourth place and only 33 units behind Mitsubishi.

Despite Isuzu’s strong start, it expects its exports from Thailand to remain flat in 2017 because of slow demand from its key Middle East market. Isuzu Thailand exports fell 11% to 160,000 units last year.

President Toshiaki Maekawa of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales, the Thai distributor of Isuzu trucks, tells the Bangkok Post the company sees exports ranging between 160,000 and 170,000 units this year.

“Unfavorable circumstances in the Middle East, where economic prospects remain murky and oil prices stay relatively low, will make it tough for Isuzu to grow exports,” he tells the newspaper.

Isuzu’s two Thai plants have combined annual production capacity of 366,000 units and supply the domestic market as well as exports to more than 110 countries.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) automotive industry club says January’s vehicle exports fell 14.5% year-on-year to 80,097 units, but it predicts full-year exports of 1.2 million, up 1% from 2016.