Honda Motor Co has reported strong business in Asia and Oceania, saying the number of cars sold in some countries ranks among the top 10 of Honda sales worldwide.
According to the Japanese company's report, sales in Asia and Oceania from January to September rose by 13% to 580,000 units, led by Indonesia and followed by India, Thailand and Malaysia.
Pitak Pruittisarikorn, chief operating officer of Honda Automobile Thailand, said Honda sold 93,271 units in the first nine months, up 14.4% year-on-year.
In the same period, the Honda City subcompact had the highest sales volume at 25,359 units, while the Honda Civic compact, both sedan and hatchback, came second with 20,576 units and the Honda Jazz subcompact was third with 16,502 units.
In the sport utility vehicle segment, Honda captured a market share of 62.8% with cumulative sales of 23,989 units from January to September, led by 11,637 of the Honda HR-V, 7,718 of the Honda CR-V and 4,634 of the Honda BR-V.
Mr Pitak voiced confidence that full-year results would exceed the 120,000 in sales of the company's forecast, itself a 12% rise, with the launch of several new models in the first half and better sentiment in the car market.
Last year, Honda sold 107,342 units, down 4.3%.
In addition, Honda said it captured 33% of the passenger car market, which includes sedans, hatchbacks, eco-cars and SUVs. Toyota and Mazda are second and third, respectively, in the same market.
According to the Federation of Thai Industries, passenger car sales from January to September stood at 244,627 units, up 20%, while SUV sales rose by 3.5% to 38,214 units.
The overall car market totalled 620,715 units, up 11.5%.
Mr Pitak forecasts the total car market to reach 830,000 units sold in 2017, marking growth for the first time in five years after constant contractions following the expiry of the first-time car buyer scheme.
Last year, overall car sales stood at 768,788 units, down 3.9%, marking the lowest volume since 2010.
In the Thai market, Honda is the third-largest car brand after Toyota and Isuzu.
Honda has manufacturing plants for cars in Ayutthaya and Prachin Buri with an annual production capacity of 300,000 and 120,000, respectively.
The company runs an R&D facility adjacent to the Prachin Buri plant to serve Asia and Oceania.
Bangkok-based Asian Honda Motor Co is in charge of Honda's exports from Thailand, covering cars, motorcycles and vehicle parts.