The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) remains confident that domestic vehicle sales will top 1 million this year, defying some car makers' projection of sales declining to between 900,000 and 980,000 vehicles.
“Domestic demand started picking up in the previous quarter as private firms and farmers bought new pickup trucks for their business expansion and new cultivation,” said Surapong Paisitpatanapong, spokesman for the FTI's automotive industry club.
The club forecasts pickup truck sales will contribute 55-58% of domestic sales against 44.2% in 2013, while passenger cars dropped to about 40% from 47.4% last year.
“The passenger car market has normalised after demand was absorbed by the government's first-time car buyer scheme,” said Mr Surapong.
The club yesterday cut its 2014 forecast for Thailand's automotive output from 2.4 million vehicles to 2.2 million. It also cut domestic sales to 1 million vehicles from 1.2 million, while exports stand firm at 1.2 million vehicles.
FTI vice-chairman Suparat Sirisuwannangkura said Thailand was expected to remain in the world's top 10 automotive manufacturers this year, with production in countries such as Canada and Russia also expected to decrease.
The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers said Thailand was the world's ninth-largest automotive manufacturer in 2013 and 10th in 2012. Production last year totalled 2.45 million vehicles, the highest in 52 years and up by 0.14% from 2012.
The club yesterday reported that car production fell by 26.1% year-on-year in June to 160,452. For the first half, Thailand's car output fell by 29% year-on-year to 952,685.
Domestic car sales in June totalled 73,799, down by 30.4% on the same period in 2013, while 440,911 cars were sold in the first half, down by 40.5%.
By contrast, car exports in June rose 6.57% to 103,946, earning the country 49.7 billion baht. In the first half, exports rose 3.6% to 560,047 cars, with export value rising 8.95% to 265 billion baht.
The FTI yesterday reported that the industrial sentiment index improved for the second straight month in June.
The index rose to 88.4 points, according to the FTI, which conducted a survey among 1,100 industrial operators. It stood at 85.1 points in May when sentiment improved for the first time in seven months.
FTI chairman Suphan Mongkholsuthee said sentiment has improved because of the more stable political situation and an increase in purchases of products thanks to the Fifa World Cup football tournament.
The industry outlook index for the next three months stood at 101.9 points, rising from 101 in May.