Thailand’s 2016 Sales Inch Into Positive Territory

Thailand’s new-vehicle sales edged into the black in August, rising 2.5% to 63,619 units, pushed ahead by the car segment which rose 8.7% to 24,768.

This was enough to offset a 0.9% slip in commercial-vehicle deliveries to 38,851 units, including the 1-ton pickup segment down 4.5% to 30,325.

Toyota Thailand, which collates sales data for the industry, says the August result pushed the year-to-date total into positive territory, up 0.2% at 492,884 units.

Toyota Thailand Executive Vice President Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont says the recovery is being helped by both the continued popularity of new models and economic gains from government stimulus measures. He expects this to continue to boost the auto market this year.

But Vudhigorn says CV demand has faltered as a result of the drought impacting the agricultural economy.

He says the continuing stability under the military government is expected to contribute to the confidence of investors and consumers, encouraging overall economic improvement.

He expects the September result to be stable.

Toyota led August sales despite easing 1.6% to 21,212 units, ahead of Isuzu, down 0.8% to 10,968, and Honda, up 18.8% at 9,625.

The passenger segment saw Toyota on top, up 3.1% at 8,104 units. Honda narrowed the gap, soaring 34.9% to 7,266 units, well ahead of Mazda, down 14.0% at 2,127.

Toyota also led the CV segment, down 4.3% at 13,108 units, with Isuzu dipping 0.8% at 10,968 and Ford up 24.8% at 3,587.

Within the CV segment, the 1-ton pickup result saw Toyota down 6.1% at 12,170 units; Isuzu off 1.4% at 9,792; and Ford up 26.4% at 3,353.

Through the year’s first eight months Toyota remained dominant, despite deliveries falling 10.1% at 150,402 units. Isuzu was a distant second, up 2.8% at 93,921 units, ahead of Honda, up 1.8% at 72,678.

Honda was winning a tight race to lead the car segment. Deliveries were up 5.6% to 52,800 units year-to-date to overtake Toyota, down 24.6% at 51,646. Mazda was a distant third, up 14.4% at 17,960 units.

The CV segment saw Toyota on top with 98,756 units, statistically unchanged from a year ago. Isuzu was closed the gap with a 2.8% uptick to 93,921 units, with Mitsubishi rising 18.0% at 25,293, all of them 1-ton pickups.

Among CV sales, the 1-ton pickup segment saw Toyota up 1.6% at 93,342 units, with Isuzu up 18.0% at 85,067 units, followed by Mitsubishi.

Ford saw August sales rise 14.3% to 3,668 units to give it an 8-month total up 24.7% at 25,193 units. Chevrolet dropped to third among the non-Japanese contingent – behind Mercedes Benz – with an August result down 12.1% at 1,153 units. It held on to second place year-to-date with a total down 11.7% at 9,065.

Meantime, Germany’s Bosch Group sees a healthy outlook for the region, announcing it will spend €80 million ($90.05 million) in Southeast Asia this year.

Peter Tyroller, the member of the Bosch board of management responsible for Asia Pacific, says the group has opened offices in the Philippines and Indonesia and will expand its mobility solutions plants in Malaysia und Vietnam and build a plant in Thailand.

Tyroller tells The Nation newspaper Bosch sees a broad range of opportunities from Southeast Asia, supported by large and young population, the growing purchasing power of the middle class, increasing demand for infrastructure, urbanization and the need to conserve natural resources.