BANGKOK, 17 April 2013 – Thailand is expecting to export 1.1 million vehicles this year while exporters are focusing on maintaining their customer base.
The Automotive Industry Club has revealed that, in 2012, Thailand saw a 32 percent growth in its auto export, earning a total of 751 billion baht in revenue. Of that amount, 490 billion baht was fetched from exports of completely built units, while the rest came from exports of auto parts. The Automotive Industry Club is targeting 1.1 million vehicles being exported this year.
Spokesman for the Automotive Industry Club Surapong Paisitpatanapong said that car exporters, last year, had to reduce the number of cars exported to other countries as domestic demand was very high due to the popularity in the government’s first-car-buyer scheme. However, he said, this year, the car producers could no longer ask for a delay of car deliveries as they need to maintain their customer base.
According to Mr. Surapong, Asia is Thailand’s largest market taking a chunk of 32 percent, followed by the Middle East absorbing 26 percent, Indonesia 20 percent, the United States 12 percent, and Europe and South Africa, 7 and 3 percent respectively.
