Improved prospects have been observed for the automotive industry, which plays a role in driving Thailand’s economy. Production and sales figures have improved for cars as well as motorcycles.
Surapong Paisitpatanapong, the spokesperson for the FTI’s automotive cluster, said Thailand’s auto manufacturers received chips and parts from trade partners in September due to the relaxation of lockdowns in those countries. Auto plants were, therefore, able to increase production, and were able to manufacture a total of 140,038 cars – an increase of 34.47% from August. A total of 1,211,946 automobiles were produced in Thailand in the 9 months from January to September, an increase of 25.93% from the same period of the previous year.
Mr. Surapong said 56,871 automobiles were sold domestically in September, an increase of 34.84% over August. He attributed improved sales to the lifting of lockdowns on September 1, which allowed people to have more confidence about their future income and therefore more visits were made to showrooms. He said financial institutes had concurrently toned down their lending approval criteria.
Export-wise, Thailand shipped out 73,831 automobiles worth 44 billion baht in September – a rise of 23.94% from August’s figure. For the 9 month period from January to September, 677,481 automobiles worth almost 400 billion baht were exported; the vehicle count rose by 29.92% and the value by 36.93% over the previous year.
Industry-wide exports, comprising automobiles, motorcycles, engines and parts, reached a value of 650 billion baht for the January – September period. This figure increased by 43.72% from the same period of the previous year. (NNT)
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