BANGKOK, 16 February 2012 – The Automotive Industry Club (AIC), under the Federation of Thai Industries, has set its this year’s production target at 2.1 million units after flooded assembly factories have begun to resume their operations.
AIC Spokesperson Surapong Paisitpatnapong revealed that the figure of car production in January stood at 140,404, the highest in four months.
When the industrial sector was hit by the flood late last year, car companies were obliged to import automotive parts from other foreign countries to compensate for the flooded factories’ lack of production. With the current rate of production, the automotive industry believes that this year’s car production figure will be as high as 2.1 million due to the continuously increasing demand, both domestically and internationally.
Initially, the AIC predicted a 2 million-unit production, but given the speedy recovery of assembly factories combined with consumer demand for cars, it is certain that the new target of 2.1 million units will be achieved. However, this estimation excludes Honda, which is in the process of recovery, and Suzuki, which has yet to forward its plans to the AIC. Mr. Surapong claimed that if these two companies were taken into account as well, the total production figure might even reach 2.3 million units, given Honda’s annual production capacity of 200,000 units and Suzuki’s mid-year plan to launch a new line of eco-cars.
Car production in January saw a 3.98% decrease from the same period last year, standing at 140,404 units. Meanwhile, January car sales figures have increased by 11.47% to stand at 76,246 units.
