BANGKOK, 23 March 2012 – The Thai Industries Federation has reported a healthy rise in local auto sales during the month of February.
Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)’s Automotive Industry Club President Suparat Sirisuwannangura said on Thursday that in February 2012, local auto sales totaled 91,325 units, up 18.28% from the same month of last year.
Mr. Suparat said that the increase has been attributed by the resumption of auto production in the country, following last year’s severe flooding, and more imports of vehicles for local sales.
In terms of production, Thailand produced 168,221 units, an 11.59% on-year increase.
To illustrate, auto production for exports grew 3.23% in February, when production for domestic sales surged 20.18%.
However, Mr. Suparat said that Thai auto exports recorded a 4.19% year-on-year fall to a total value of 35.73 billion baht.
During the next 3 months, the FTI forecasts that local auto production will total 478,926 units, or 33.04% more than the same period of 2011.
For motorbike production in the next 3 months, it is expected that the total number produced will stand at 657,451 units. When compared with the actual number of 593,004 units, produced from December 2011 to February 2012, the forecast shows an increase of 64,447 units or 10.87%.
