The auto parts industry is projected to grow by 10% next year thanks to increasing orders from overseas, says the Thai Autoparts Manufacturers Association (Tapma).
"The expansion of auto industries in foreign countries in 2015 will support demand for auto parts in Thailand," said Atchana Limpaitoon, president of Tapma.
The association estimates the combined sales value for local auto parts makers will be 400-450 billion baht this year, with next year reaching 500 billion.
"The depreciating baht against major currencies such as the dollar should help our sales, as cheaper products make it easier for us to seal the deal with traders," said Ms Atchana.
As Thailand's automotive industry projects total vehicle exports of 2 million units next year, this should also benefit the auto parts industry.
Tapma estimates auto parts supply will be evenly split between the export and domestic markets in 2015.
"Overseas orders should generate a high export value next year, especially if the baht stays between 30 and 32 to the dollar," she said.
In a related matter, a novel programme aims to improve the competitiveness of the Thai auto parts industry, as it is one of the key engines driving the Thai economy.
The industry is mostly composed of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), said Wilasinee Poonuchaphai, director of the greening supply chain project under the EU's Switch-Asia programme.
"The auto parts supply chain is really important in generating GDP for the country, given its business value of 400-500 billion," she said.
The energy-saving programme is critical in helping the industry to improve its cost efficiency, as energy is a major cost for this sector and the project offers technology know-how to save on production energy expenses.
The Switch-Asia programme, founded in 2012, aims to promote the adoption of sustainable consumption and production concepts among SMEs in Asia. It has a budget of 20 million euros (826 million baht) for 2012 to 2015 and some 300 Thai auto parts SMEs are members.
Switch-Asia hopes to save 18 million megajoules of energy and 1,600 tonnes of wastes from production processes.