Domestic car sales continue to be a concern, with pure pickup sales plummeting by 40.8% in the first five months of 2024 and likely to keep falling, attributed to a sluggish economy and restricted access to loans, says the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
Sales of pickup passenger vehicles (PPVs) plunged by 42% year-on-year to 16,255 units.
"The decrease in pickup sales widely affected the automotive industry and auto parts makers along the supply chain," said Surapong Paisitpatanapong, vice-chairman of the FTI and spokesman for the federation's Automotive Industry Club.
For the first five months of this year, sales of pure pickups fell by 40.8% year-on-year to 75,510 units.
Mr Surapong expects sales of pure pickups and PPVs to total 150,000 units, lower than the 2024 target of 200,000 units.
Usually up to 400,000 pure pickups and PPVs are sold annually in Thailand. Even during the 1997 financial crash, sales were decent, he said.
"Now the situation is getting worse as a result of banks' strict criteria in granting auto loans," said Mr Surapong.
Banks are cautious about lending money to prospective car buyers, fearing non-performing loans as the country's household debt remains high.
The household debt-to-GDP ratio is currently 91%.
"We hope state budget spending will help ease the unpleasant circumstances in the automotive industry," he said.
"The country is waiting for new stimulus measures that can strengthen consumer purchasing power."
Total car sales in the domestic market decreased by 23.8% year-on-year to 260,365 units from January to May this year.
During this five-month period, total auto manufacturing fell by 16.8% year-on-year to 644,951 units.
This trend is forcing the club to consider downgrading Thailand's car manufacturing output in 2024, which was forecast at 1.9 million units, with 1.15 million units produced for export and 750,000 units manufactured for domestic sales.
According to the club, car exports in May increased by 3.3% year-on-year to 89,284 units as demand grew overseas, but over the first five months of this year, exports fell by 2.2% year-on-year to 429,969 units.
