Car sales up for second straight month

Car sales up for second straight month

The domestic car market looks set to recover after sales rose for a second straight month in May, indicating signs of improving purchasing power.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)'s automotive industry club reported yesterday sales surged by 15.9% year-on-year in May to 66,019 vehicles after edging up 1.7% to 54,986 units in April.

Passenger cars, in particular, saw a recovery after shrinking on a continuous basis since May 2013, with sales rising 8.2% in May this year to 25,039 units.

Sport-utility vehicles also increased by 1.7% to 4,221 units, while pickup trucks and passenger pickup vehicles remained bullish with sales up by 22.4% and 108% to 28,904 and 4,645 units, respectively.

Motorcycle sales also rose by 14.3% to 165,644 units last month.

However, the car market for the first five months remained in the red, down 2% from the same period last year to 302,565 units, while motorcycle sales fell 0.6% to 725,552 units in the same period.

The club's spokesman Surapong Paisitpatanapong said the sales surge reflected improved economic conditions helped by government measures to boost spending and state investment in infrastructure projects.

"We [the club] strongly believe the government's stimulus measures and accelerated investment in megaprojects would help boost car sales in the remaining months," he said.

According to the FTI, car exports bounced back in May, rising 11.9% to 99,547 units worth 55 billion baht, up by 26.3% from the same period last year after shipments fell in April by 2% to 80,491 units.

Total car exports in the first five months still declined by 2.3% to 487,798 vehicles, valued at 262 billion baht, up 14%.

The FTI reported May's vehicle output increased by 24.7% to 168,394 units, mainly driven by domestic demand, prompting overall production from January to May to rise by 3.82% to 813,505 vehicles.

Mr Surapong added the club would revise its projections in July.

The FTI projected in January vehicle output would increase by 4-5% this year to 2 million after falling below 2 million for two straight years in 2014 and 2015.

Domestic sales were expected to decline by 2-6% to 750,000-780,000 vehicles, which would fall for four consecutive years, while vehicle exports were projected to increase slightly by 1-3% to 1.22-1.25 million this year.

In a related development, FTI chairman Chen Namchaisiri reported yesterday the Thai industries sentiment index (TISI) rose last month to 86.4 points from 85 from April, mainly driven by easing drought conditions and the government's investment stimulus policies.

The index has remained below 100 points for 48 months since June 2012.

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