Car production in Thailand dropped in March for a 20th successive month but at a slower pace as domestic sales improved, but auto exports posted a bigger decline, an industry group said on Tuesday.
Car production contracted 6.1% in March from a year earlier to 129,909 units, following February's annual 13.62% fall, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said.
The output was squeezed by lower production of commercial vehicles, with truck output down 70%, due to a weak economy and tightened car loans, it said.
Thailand is Southeast Asia's biggest autos production centre and an export base for some of the world's top carmakers, including Toyota and Honda.
Exports dropped 14.9% in March from a year earlier, after a drop of 8.34% in the previous month, the federation said.
This year's overall output forecast of 1.5 million vehicles could be missed, Surapong Paisitpattanapong, spokesperson for the FTI's automotive industry division, told a press conference.
However, car sales dropped just 0.54% in March from a year earlier, after falling 6.7% in the previous month, helped by Bangkok's motor show.
"It's a very good figure, down less than 1%. We're very happy," Mr Surapong said.
The increase was from passenger car sales at the motor show, where bookings were over 70,000 units, with electric cars beating fuel-powered vehicles, he added.
According to the distributor of British car brands Land Rover and Jaguar in Thailand, domestic car sales in the ultra-luxury vehicle segment are expected to fall this year due to a slowdown in the automotive industry and the Thai economy, causing people to delay their purchases.
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