Thai Dec car sales jump 20.1% y-o-y: federation

[BANGKOK] Thailand's domestic car sales jumped 20.1 per cent in December from a year earlier to 104,302 units, their highest level in four years, helped by motor shows, improving consumer confidence and the country's economic recovery, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said on Wednesday.

Domestic car sales were 871,650 vehicles in 2017, up 13.4 per cent from a year earlier, the first annual increase in five years.

For 2018, the FTI raised its forecast for domestic car sales to 900,000 cars from 870,000 vehicles.

It maintained its forecast for car exports at 1.1 million for this year after about 1.14 million vehicles exported in 2017.

Annual domestic car sales declined during 2013-2016, following the end of a government car subsidy scheme in 2012, when sales surged 81 per cent.

Thailand is a regional vehicle production and export base for the world's top carmakers. The auto industry accounts for about 12 per cent of Thailand's economy, Southeast Asia's second largest.

REUTERS