Thailand's car market is expected to display bullish sentiment in the fourth quarter thanks to intense market competition and stimulus measures from the government.
Mazda and Ford reported their performances yesterday for the first nine months, both recording sales growth on par with the overall car market.
Ford, ranked sixth by sales volume, posted year-on-year growth of 37% with 39,508 cars sold from January to September.
Narong Sritalayon, deputy managing director of Ford Thailand, said sales jumped 29% to 13,995 vehicles in the third quarter, with its market share gaining 0.9 percentage points to 6.7%.
The Ranger pickup is Ford's best-selling model, with sales increasing 38% to 10,884 vehicles in the third quarter.
Its sales momentum helped Ford add 1.9 percentage points to its market share for the segment year-on-year, rising to 12.1%.
Ford remains third in the pickup market after Isuzu and Toyota.
Ford's No.2 model in the local market is the Everest sport utility vehicle, with sales increasing 4% to 2,154 units during the third quarter.
For the first nine months of this year, the Everest recorded 5,801 units sold, a 10% rise from the same period last year.
"The appeal of the Ranger and Everest are continuing to drive our performance this year," said Mr Narong.
"The rainy season helps to underscore the capabilities and practicality of both these vehicles."
Mazda, in seventh place, sold 36,621 vehicles over the first three quarters, an increase of 15%.
Chanchai Trakarnudomsuk, president of Mazda Sales (Thailand), said the Mazda2 eco-car enjoyed tremendous 30% growth, with sales of 22,516 units in the third quarter.
Moreover, the Mazda2 was ranked third in the eco-car segment after Toyota and Nissan.
"We are confident in achieving our 51,000-unit sales target, or 20% growth this year," he said.
"We believe the Thai car market will grow for the first time in five years to 820,000 units, up 7-10%."
He said the Thai economy will keep growing, as the tourism sector enjoys its high season, with both domestic and international travellers on the rise.
Exports are also showing good signs of growth, while the government's economic stimulus measures have been directed at investment in infrastructure, supporting job creation and helping drive the economy during the year-end period.
Total car sales from January to September will be reported by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) next Wednesday.
The FTI's automotive industry club reported last month the overall market for the first eight months grew by 10.2% to 543,120 vehicles.
The top five car brands were all Japanese: Toyota (26.7%), Isuzu (18.8%), Honda (15.2%), Mitsubishi (8.0%) and Nissan (6.9%).