The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) expects total motorcycle production this year will exceed the target of 2.1 million units.
The rebound of the tourism industry has increased demand for motorcycles and the easing of the global semiconductor shortage means chip makers can supply a greater number to motorcycle producers, said Surapong Paisitpatanapong, vice-chairman and spokesman for the FTI's Automotive Industry Club.
"The tourism industry has continued to recover since the end of the pandemic and borders were reopened. Foreign tourists like to drive motorcycles," said Mr Surapong.
Earlier this year, the FTI predicted local motorcycle production in 2023 of 2.1 million units. Of the total, production for the domestic market was 1.75 million units, with the export market projected to account for 350,000 units.
The FTI said Thailand's motorcycle production capacity in July fell by 7.84% year-on-year to 194,773 units.
Completely built-up (CBU) units increased by 11.1% year-on-year to 170,123 units, but completely knocked-down (CKD) units plummeted by 57.6% year-on-year to 24,650 units.
Between January and July, motorcycle production capacity rose by 3.08% year-on-year to 1,501,470 units. CBU output increased by 19.3% year-on-year to 1,297,727 units, but CKD output plunged by 44.8% year-on-year to 203,743 units.
Domestic motorcycle sales in July surged by 12.7% year-on-year to 150,779 units, with sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles rising by 12.7% year-on-year to 150,770 units. Sales of hybrid motorcycles fell sharply by 81.3% year-on-year to nine units.
For the first seven months, domestic motorcycle sales increased by 10% year-on-year to 1,144,760 units. Sales of ICE motorcycles rose by 10% for the period to 1,143,722 units. Sales of hybrid motorcycles decreased by 9.11% year-on-year to 818 units, while battery-powered motorcycles increased by 100% to 220 units.
The FTI said motorcycle exports in July, including CBU and CKD models, dropped by 1.72% year-on-year to 64,238 units worth 5.69 billion baht, a gain of 29.8%. For the first seven months, motorcycle exports decreased by 15.3% year-on-year to 491,872 units, including CBU and CKD types. Export value for the period increased by 8.29% year-on-year to 41.6 billion baht.
Exports of motorcycles and motorcycle parts in July increased by 26.1% year-on-year to 6.18 billion baht, while exports for the first seven months rose by 8.43% to 44.6 billion baht.