New auto sales seen topping 1m, first time in 5 years

[Nereus]

New auto sales seen topping 1m, first time in 5 years

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ne ... recent_box

New vehicle sales this year are expected to top one million units for the first time in five years, overcoming a recent slowdown caused by the fading effect of past tax credits.

In the first nine months of this year, sales of new passenger cars and commercial vehicles rose 20.3% from a year earlier to 746,584 units, according to data compiled by Toyota Motor Thailand, the country's leading carmaker.

Industry officials expect sales to exceed the 1-million mark for the whole of 2018.

Surapong Paisitpatanapong, vice-chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, recently projected that sales will rise further toward the yearend.

Antoine Barthes, president of Nissan Motor Thailand Ltd, has also said 2018 full-year sales are "highly likely" to reach 1 million units.

Mr Surapong said consumer sentiment should improve as political uncertainties in the country have eased somewhat following the military government's promise to hold a general election sometime next year in response to popular demand.

The Thailand International Motor Expo later this year is also expected to support new car sales, he added.

In the January-September period, passenger car sales rose 19% from a year earlier to 291,091 units, while commercial vehicle sales grew 21.1% to 455,493 units.

Last year, overall new vehicle sales gained 13.4% to 871,650 units for the first annual growth in five years after an 80.9% surge to an all-time peak of 1,436,335 units in 2012.

New car sales in 2012 were boosted by tax rebates for first-time car owners purchasing by the end of that year. Sales had also rebounded from a slump the previous year, when massive floods swept through southern Thailand, causing a supply-chain breakdown for manufacturers.

On a monthly basis, Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-largest automobile market, posted the 21st consecutive year-on-year growth in September and double-digit percentage gains for the 13th straight month, according to industry data.

Japanese carmakers in Thailand hold a combined market share of 85.5%, according to the latest data.

[handdrummer]

All those cars and no where to park them in town.

[HHTel]

And I guess it's not going to help the record consumer debt here. More taking on what they can't afford.

I'm just guessing but I bet there's some truth in that.

[caller]

And I guess it's not going to help the record consumer debt here. More taking on what they can't afford.

I'm just guessing but I bet there's some truth in that.

Not sure around here and whether 0% interest is available in Hua Hin, but in Khon Kaen, where I was until the other day, it's endemic. I always thought that a sign of slow car sales?