Thai Auto Market Free-Fall Continues in September

Thailand’s new-vehicle deliveries continued their yearlong fall with September deliveries diving 27.2% from a year earlier to 69,137 units.

Toyota Thailand, which collates data for the Thai industry, says new-car sales tumbled 35.9% to 30,313 units, while commercial-vehicle deliveries dropped 18.5% to 38,824.

Within the CV segment, the 1-ton pickup truck market slipped 19.1% to 32,279 units.

Toyota Executive Vice President Wutthikorn Suriyachantanano cites a slowing of both business investment and household spending for the month’s drop in sales.

The result left the country’s 9-month sales volume 37.3% behind prior-year to 648,410 units, with the new-car market skidding 45.0% to 273,700 and the CV segment off 30.1% to 374,710.

Wutthikorn says Toyota has been expecting the Thai market to stabilize somewhat this month.

The last quarter of the year is the highest sales period and he says deliveries will be helped by promotional activities, new-model debuts, improved political stability and the introduction of new government fiscal policies.

“All this has a positive psychological effect on the public and investors,” Wutthikorn says in a statement. “However, the index of consumer confidence fell in September. The overall economic situation in the country is slow as a result of agricultural prices remaining low, along with exports and tourism, which require time to recover.”

Toyota led the September market with sales down 22.8% from like-2013 to 24,064 units. Isuzu followed, bucking the market with a 1% rise to 12,047, ahead of Honda – celebrating its 50th anniversary in Thailand – sliding 26.4% to 10,073.

Toyota maintained a narrow lead in the car segment with deliveries off 20.9% to 10,979 units, ahead of Honda, dropping 22.4% to 9,833 and Nissan, slumping 69.9% to 1,991.

The CV market saw Toyota on top despite a 25.1% decline to 13,085 units, while Isuzu climbed 1% to 12,047. Within this, the 1-ton truck market was led by Toyota, decreasing 23.4% to 12,201 units, ahead of Isuzu, improving 4.1% to 10,731.

After nine months, Toyota was the runaway market leader in spite of a 28.7% backslide to 238,128 units, almost double Isuzu, retreating 25.5% to 120,131. Honda followed as deliveries shrank 57.8% year-over-year to 74,671.

The car segment showed Toyota slowing 21.5% to 110,521 units, followed by Honda, plunging 57.2% to 68,291 and Nissan falling 61.1% behind its year-ago pace to 23,496.

In CV deliveries Toyota was down 33.9% to 127,607 units, followed by Isuzu, slipping 25.5% to 120,131. Within the segment, Toyota led in 1-ton pickup sales despite a 32.7% slump to 120,060 vehicles. Isuzu followed, dropping 22.3% to 110,661 units, ahead of Mitsubishi, off 35.8% to 28,486.

Ford continued to lead the non-Japanese segment in September, although sales decreased 32.2% to 2,702 units for a 9-month total down 26.8% to 28,858.

Chevrolet fell farther behind its U.S. rival with the month’s deliveries plunging 66.0% to 1,638 units and a year-to-date total declining 56.0% to 20,118.

Meantime, the automotive industry club of the Federation of Thai Industries reports Thai vehicle production fell 15.6% year-on-year in September to 164,299 units as vehicle exports dropped 17.5% to 97,570.

The Bangkok Post cites a club report as saying that for the first nine months of this year, vehicle shipments were down just 1% at 838,952 with club spokesman Surapong Paisitpatanapong saying the economies of many countries, particularly those of Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, remained weak.

Indonesia, which once imported whole vehicles, now imports only auto parts for local assembly, while the falling price of coal in Australia weakened demand for Thai-made pickup trucks. Competition from less-costly Eastern European vehicles is increasing, and the newspaper says the conflict in the Middle East and the Ebola outbreak in Africa also has cut demand for Thai-made vehicles in those regions.

The federation reduced its vehicle production forecast to 2.1 million vehicles this year from 2.2 million. It sees domestic sales dipping to 900,000, but maintained its export forecast at 1.2 million vehicles.