Thailand's automotive parts shipments are expected to grow by 10% this year to US$13.18 billion, mainly boosted by the weak baht and accelerated exports by local manufacturers to stave off tepid demand at home.
Achana Limpaitoon, president of Thai Autoparts Manufacturers Association (Tapma) said overseas markets are likely to be the main focus of almost all local manufacturers, as domestic car demand shrinks due to the political impasse and adverse economic prospects.
For 2013, Thailand reported auto parts exports of $11.99 billion, up by 6.03%, according to the International Trade Promotion Department.
In January, the department also reported auto parts shipments grew 6.03% over the same month last year to $971.95 million.
Tapma forecast car output to decrease below 2.4 million cars, half of which are aimed at overseas markets.
Likewise, Ms Achana said more than 50% of the auto parts market will also serve exports, mainly to Asia and Oceania.
In the Thai automotive industry, 80% of auto parts firms are original equipment manufacturers, with the replacement market making up 20%.
Thailand is the leading automotive country in Asean, with a total output of 4.4 million cars in 2013, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Ms Achana said investment in the second phase of the eco-car scheme is expected to give a shot in the arm to the automotive parts market.
The Board of Investment (BoI) on Tuesday announced that 10 car makers including five eco-car manufacturers have officially applied for the second phase of the government's eco-car scheme, with total expected investment of 139 billion baht.
The 10 projects are set to produce 1.58 million units of eco-cars with an investment 100 billion baht higher than the combined outlay from the five eco-car manufacturers in the first phase.
The existing five manufacturers are prepared to invest 86.8 billion baht for the production of 753,000 eco-cars, while the five newcomers are prepared to spend 52 billion baht to roll out 828,000 units.
The BoI will look at the details of each proposal to ensure compliance with eco-car scheme requirements.
If they qualify, the projects will be submitted to the BoI's main board once a new one is formed.