Flood of Buyers Lifts Honda to No.1 in Thai LV Sales

Honda comes storming back from the flood disaster of a year and a half ago to topple Toyota as Thailand’s leading car seller with 21,282 deliveries in February, up 3,680.1%.

At the same time, Toyota saw its car sales fall 10.3% to 15,619 units.

Figures collated for the Thai industry by Toyota show Honda’s dramatic recovery lifted it into first place in year-to-date car sales with 36,795 deliveries, up 4,203.5%. Toyota volume rose 8.6% to 34,055. Nissan was third, with sales jumping 54.2% to 8,911.

The February result was a record for Honda as it claimed 37.6% of the car segment. The auto maker’s strong start to the year came after it achieved the highest annual sales in company history, 171,208 units – in just nine months after its once-flooded plant returned to production.

Honda Thailand Vice President Pitak Pruittisarikorn credits the sales surge to a full range of models and strengthening customer service. “We are confident that Honda will see continued strong sales growth,” he says in a statement.

For the month, Thai sales volumes climbed 42.3% year-on-year to a record 129,910 units. Car deliveries spiked 92.1% to 63,452 and commercial vehicles improved 14.0% to 66,458, including the 1-ton pickup segment rising 6.3% to 54,576.

Toyota Thailand Executive Vice President Wutthikorn Suriyachantanano says the market is being driven by deliveries from the government’s first-car-buyers tax-rebate program, an improving economy and the increasing consumer purchasing power.

After two months, Thailand sales volume was up 51.9% year-on-year to 255,727 units as car deliveries surged 99.8% to 123,324 units and CV sales advanced 24.2% to 132,403.

Wutthikorn says Toyota expects the market to continue to grow steadily for at least the next six months.

“Consumer confidence in the overall economy is the highest in the past 19 months,” he says in a statement. “It reflects the increased economic integration in a positive direction.”

Toyota continued to lead the overall market despite total February sales falling 6.1% to 37,041 units, ahead of Honda, up 4,105.2% to 25,105 and Isuzu, up 14.6% to 20,844.

Last month’s CV sales slipped 2.7% to 21,422 units, but Toyota still outsold Isuzu, which rose 14.6% to 20,844 with Mitsubishi a distant third, down 16.6% to 6,297.

After two months, Toyota’s total vehicle sales were up 2.8% to 77,704 units, still well ahead of Honda, up 4,581.8% to 43,494 and Isuzu, up 39.5% to 40,702.

Toyota’s 2-month CV sales were off 1.3% to 43,649 units but topped Isuzu, up 39.5% to 40,702, and Mitsubishi, down 5.6% to 13,615.

Within the CV market, Toyota’s 1-ton pickup total for the first two months slipped 1.8% to 40,438 units, ahead of Isuzu, gaining 35.3% to 36,581 and Mitsubishi, dropping 5.6% to 13,615.

Chevrolet continued to lead non-Asian makes in Thailand, with its February result rising 11.3% to 5,805 units for a 2-month total up 31.6% to 11,845.

Ford saw February sales improve 32.0% from like-2012 to 4,493 units, giving it a year-to-date total up 52.4% to 10,141.

The Federation of Thai Industries' automotive industry club says the country’s vehicle production jumped 36.4% year-on-year in February to 229,204 units. The Bangkok Post reports the result pushed output after the first two months up 50.7% to 465,229.

Club spokesman Surapong Paisitpatanapong says production over the next three months is forecast at 660,390 units, up 21.4% from 543,912 units compared with year-ago.

Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko tells the newspaper the Japanese auto maker will increasingly rely on Thailand as a production base for pickup truck and eco-car shipments to more than 140 countries.

The export target for Mitsubishi’s three Thai plants is being raised to 340,000 units this year from 280,000 last year. Those factories are export-oriented, Masuko says, with about 70% of their combined annual capacity of 460,000 shipped overseas.

“Thailand is our second-largest production base behind our headquarters in Japan, thanks to the Thai government's support of the automobile industry and the Board of Investment's tax incentives,” he says.

Mitsubishi will build its Mirage eco-cars only in Thailand, and Masuko says the auto maker will spend TB1 billion ($34.3 million) to raise production capacity to 200,000 units after launching last year with annual capacity of 150,000.

The Mirage has become Thailand’s most popular subcompact hatchback, with a market share hovering at about 49%.

Mitsubishi also plans to build a research and development center in Thailand within two years to complement its expansion plans for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.