The automotive industry club of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) expects car bookings at the 36th Bangkok International Motor Show to reach the target of 40,000 vehicles, reflecting reviving domestic demand.
Surapong Paisitpatanapong, vice-chairman and spokesman of the club, yesterday said political stability was likely to help boost consumer confidence and encourage drivers to spend more money on cars.
"Normal sales volume stands at 20,000 vehicles during this period each year. However, we expect the motor show will drive car bookings to double that," he said.
"We know the overall economic situation is not so good for the car industry to aim so high, but we see signs of the economy rebounding, with consumers confident to spend their money."
Weak domestic purchasing power is due largely to falling agriculture prices and rising household debt.
The FTI forecasts Thai car production will reach 2.4 million this year, slightly above the previous prediction of at least 2 million vehicles, Mr Surapong said.
It expects domestic car sales and exports to each be 1.2 million vehicles.
However, the figure of 2.4 million vehicles is down by 2% or 57,000 vehicles from last year, reflecting that the economy has not fully recovered.
Data from the automotive industry club show car production was down by 24% year-on-year to 173,506 vehicles last month.
The decline was due largely to the high base effect caused by the previous government's first-time car buyer scheme, which spurred artificial demand.
Mr Surapong said the government's ambitious target for annual car production of 3 million by 2017 was far-fetched, as several risks lay ahead. These include uncontrollable external factors such as weak economies in car-importing countries and political unrest that could trim purchasing power.