GM Predicts Marginal Recovery in 2015 Thai Market

General Motors expects Thailand’s new-vehicle sales to recover only 2% this year to 900,000 units, despite improving economic prospects in the Southeast Asia military dictatorship.

Sales dived 33.7% last year to 881,832 units.

GM Thailand Managing Director Marcos Purty says this year’s expected volume would represent a return to normal levels for car sales after extraordinary growth in 2012-2013 as a result of government tax rebates for first-time buyers.

Sales soared to 1.45 million units in 2012 and 1.33 million in 2013.

Purty tells the Bangkok Post this year’s sales will reflect the fundamentals of Thailand’s car industry. “It will be quite hard to return to sales of more than 1 million cars annually in the short term,” he says.

Chevrolet Thailand’s sales dived 54.2% to 25,799 units last year and Purty says only that he expects this year’s result will be in line with the overall market. “Normally we don’t reveal sales targets, but we’ll try our best to boost Chevrolet’s sales.”