Car production in the first eight months of 2020 plunged 42% year-on-year to 812,721 units, but manufacturers still have another four months to reach the target of 1.4 million units, says the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
The goal is attainable if 150,000 units are produced each month until the end of the year, the federation said. Half of the 1.4 million units will be exported.
"The FTI has a positive outlook for the automotive industry, which should pick up in the last four months," Surapong Paisitpatanapong, the FTI vice-chairman and spokesman for the group's automotive club, said on Thursday.
The expectation follows good signs for car production in August, with monthly volume rising 31.2% from July to 117,253 units, though the figure was down 29.5% year-on-year.
In the same month, domestic car sales fell by 12.1% year-on-year to 68,883 units but were up 16% from July, due to the phase-out of lockdown measures that caused many temporary business closures earlier this year and cancelled car exhibitions such as the Bangkok International Motor Show.
From January to August, domestic car sales fell by 32.9% year-on-year to 448,006 units.
According to the FTI, car exports in August fell by 29.6% year-on-year to 57,402 units as car business overseas remained sluggish. Compared with the figure for July, however, shipments increased by 15.8%.
From January to August, Thailand exported 457,516 cars, a 36.7% year-on-year decrease. Export value stood at 251 billion baht, down 32.2% year-on-year.
FTI chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree said the Thailand Industrial Sentiment Index (TISI) in August saw a fourth consecutive monthly rise to 84.0 points, improving from 82.5 in July.
Factors behind the index's steady increase include business confidence in the government's control of the Covid-19 outbreak and increasing demand in certain industries, notably automotive, food, home appliances and construction.
The August TISI was based on a survey of 1,215 enterprises in 45 industries. Most of them (69.2%) expressed unease over the global economic situation. Some 54% of the respondents were concerned about domestic political conflict.
The FTI continues to propose plans to help restore the economy. The group is in talks with large companies on a proposal to increase the liquidity of SMEs by reducing the credit term from 60-120 days to 30 days.
"This measure will speed up debt repayment," Mr Supant said. "Payments under state projects should be settled within 30 days after procurement."