Thailand car production drops in July, local sales up

[BANGKOK] Car production in Thailand fell for the first time in three months in July as tariff uncertainty hurt export demand, while sales extended recent gains, helped by strong growth in electric vehicles, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said on Monday (Aug 25).

Last month’s car output dropped 11.39 per cent from a year earlier to 110,616 units after rising 11.98 per cent annually in June.

Exports contracted 13.27 per cent in July from a year earlier due to uncertainty over US tariffs, Surapong Paisitpattanapong, spokesperson for the FTI’s automotive industry division, told a briefing.

However, overall domestic car sales rose for a fourth straight month in July, up 5.84 per cent year on year. Sales were helped by a 35 per cent jump in electric vehicles, Surapong said, although tighter lending conditions remained a weight on pickup truck sales in a sluggish economy.

There is a high chance that car sales will reach 600,000 units this year, he added.

Thailand is South-east Asia’s biggest auto production centre and an export base for some of the world’s top carmakers, including Toyota and Honda. REUTERS