On Monday, The Federation of Thai Industries reported that in January, car production in Thailand slumped 24.63% to 107,103 units, a significant decline from the previous year due to fading domestic sales and exports.
Thailand is Southeast Asia’s largest autos assembly and a strong export base for the global top carmakers, including the Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda.
Surapong Paisitpattanapong, spokesperson for the FTI’s automotive division, said in a news conference that the production numbers are concerningly low.
In December, the output dropped 17.37% year-on-year, while the January figure represented an even steeper dive as the deterioration entered its 18th consecutive month.
In the same January, domestic car sales slid 12.26% from the last year to 48,092 units, while subsiding 20.94% from December. The weakened car sales were largely weighed by stiffer car loans due to bloated household debt, said the FTI.
Meanwhile, exports shrunk to the 33 month low of 28.13% from a year ago to 62,321 units, and 15.46% from a month earlier. This is largely due to increasing competition from Chinese autos, Surapong reported.
Surapong also added that the federation will closely monitor the expected government support measures on auto loans, as well as President Donald Trump tariffs on car imports.
According to Trump from earlier this month, the new auto tariffs will be imposed as soon as 2 April.
