Thailand has dropped from ninth place to 12th in the world ranking of automobile manufacturers as European production has recovered, according to a local industry executive.
Thai vehicle exports, on the other hand, remained among the global top 10, said Surapong Paisitpattanapong, vice-president of the Federation of Thai Industries' automotive group.
"We have projected production at 2 million units and exports at 1.2 million this year," Mr Surapong told Thai media on Saturday.
According to data from the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), China is the world's largest vehicle producer, churning out 12.09 million units in the second quarter of this year.
The United States ranked second at 6.12 million units, followed by Japan (4.65 million), Germany (3.08 million), South Korea (2.32 million), India (2.05 million), Mexico (1.81 million), Spain (1.46 million), Brazil (1.28 million) and Canada (1.1 million).
With 935,251 units, down 1.81% year-on-year during the quarter, Thailand ranked 12th.
Mr Surapong said the FTI had revised its forecast for domestic vehicle sales this year down to 760,000 units, short of the 800,000-unit target, after sales in the first 10 months of this year stood at 621,000 units.
The remaining two months of the year would likely add 140,000 to the total sales, he said.
Next year, when the new excise tax based on carbon emissions rather than engine size takes effect, sales are expected to slow in the first three months. "We aim to sell 750,000 to 800,000 units locally next year," he said.
Meanwhile, vehicle sales at the 32nd Thailand International Motor Expo stood at 31,105 units as of Friday. The top five brands were Toyota (4,138 units), Isuzu (3,501) Honda (3,434), Mazda (3,003) and Nissan (2,368).
The 12-day show runs until Sunday.