According to Bangkok Post, the Thai auto industry will face difficulties in 2024, as both production and business sectors will decline. FTI said that the decline in sales was due to stricter loan approval procedures from financial institutions; affected by the economic recession and the increase in bad debt (NPL) of car buyers in the third quarter.
Mr. Surapong Paisitpatanapong - Vice President of FTI informed: "Over the past 11 months, Thai automobile production reached 1,364,119 vehicles (down 20.14% over the same period in 2023). Of which, 117,251 vehicles were produced in November 2024, down 28.23%".
FTI still hopes that the new target of auto output will be lower than 1.5 million units for 2024. This figure is lower than the initial target since 2021 (1.7 million vehicles) and was revised down in July. 2024.
According to Mr. Surapong, new vehicle sales in the same period were 518,659 units (down 26.69% compared to 2023). In November 2024 alone, 42,309 cars were sold, an increase of 12.25% compared to October 2024 but a decrease of 31.34% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the bad debt ratio of car buyers increased to 22.8% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Thailand exported 942,867 vehicles in the past 11 months (down 8.21%). In November 2024 alone, the number of exported vehicles reached 89,646 vehicles, continuing to decrease by 10% compared to November 2023.
November 2024 saw a decline in sales of all domestic vehicles, except for the plug-in hybrid line with an annual growth rate of 346% (223 units). However, sales of this segment are very small, accounting for only 0.53% of total vehicle sales. In the whole market, internal combustion engine vehicles are still leading with a rate of 28.3%, followed by pickup trucks (27.1%) and hybrid vehicles (17.9%).
FTI forecasts that sales, exports and output in 2025 will be similar to 2024. Meanwhile, Mr. Surapong said that "Thailand's GDP needs to grow by 4-5% to boost the economy and the auto industry".
