Toyota Sees Thai Market Steadying After January Slip
Toyota, which collects sales data for the industry, says last month’s slump reflects high volume from a year ago, when government tax incentives were spurring demand. But it notes the country’s ongoing political unrest may affect sales.
Thailand’s new-vehicle sales plunged 45.5% in January to 68,508 units amid the increasingly violent political standoff between the government and street protesters.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Medical Dept. says 19 people have been killed and 717 wounded in the violence since Nov 30.
Toyota, which collates sales data for the Thai industry, says sales of new cars dropped 55.9% year-over-year to 26,406 units. Commercial-vehicle deliveries sank 36.2% to 42,102 units, with the important 1-ton pickup segment off 36.9% to 35,080 units.
Senior Vice President Wutthikorn Suriyachantanano says the sharp fall resulted in part from large sales volume a year earlier, boosted then by the government’s first-car-buyer tax-refund program.
Wutthikorn says Toyota believes the auto industry now is in normal growth, with the automaker predicting improvement in February, traditionally a good sales month with deliveries of new models launched since the beginning of the year.
“However, the political situation may affect the psychology of consumer spending, which may affect the auto market,” he says in a statement.
Automotive Industry Club spokesman Surapong Paisitpatanapong attributes the sales slide to the aftereffects of the government’s first-car scheme, a slowdown in the economy, more stringent controls on car loans and the political turbulence.
Surapong tells the Bangkok Post vehicle exports fell 6.9% year-on-year in January to 81,025 units as production fell 31.1% to 162,652. The group predicts output in the first quarter will fall 22% from like-2013 to 511,342 units.
Toyota started the year where it ended last year: comfortably in front as the market leader after sharing the sales drop with its main rivals. Its total deliveries dropped 35.5% to 26,219 units, with Isuzu down 35.1% to 12,883 and Nissan off 39.9% to 6,020.
The car market saw Toyota declining 37.7% to 11,494 units, but still well ahead of last year’s segment leader Honda, retreating 70.6% to 4,582 and Nissan off 61.1% to 3,205.
It was a slightly closer race in the CV segment with Toyota slipping 33.8% to 14,725 units and Isuzu falling 35.1% to 12,883. Mitsubishi was a distant third with sales of its 1-ton pickups off 59.2% to 2,989.
In that 1-ton pickup segment, Toyota was down 33.6% to 13,738 units and Isuzu contracting 33.4% to 11,968.
Ford led the non-Japanese contingent in Thailand with LV sales down 45.8% to 3,061 units, comfortably ahead of rival Chevrolet, which backslid 60.5% to 2,384.
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