Thai Car Sales Drop 3.6 Percent In July

[george]

Thai car sales drop 3.6 percent in July: industry

BANGKOK: -- Domestic car sales in Thailand fell 3.6 percent year-on-year in July, the 14th consecutive month to show a drop although the rate of decline slowed, Toyota Motor Thailand announced Friday.

The industry recorded sales of 43,156 units in July, but figures were improved from a month earlier when vehicle sales recorded falls of 13.4 percent year-on-year.

Passenger car sales were hit hardest in July, falling 9.1 percent, while commercial vehicle sales edged up 0.5 percent.

Toyota compiles data on behalf of the auto industry in Thailand.

"The drop was the smallest in 14 months because sales last July were also low due to oil prices hitting an historic high at that time," said Toyota Motor Thailand in its monthly release.

It said sales in August were likely to be stable with the introduction of new models boosting the market but with rising oil prices holding it back.

Car sales in the first seven months of the year fell by 25 percent year-on-year to 274,584 units.

Last month Toyota revised down its forecast for the whole year sales, predicting a drop of 22 percent amid the ongoing global economic recession.

Toyota remained the market leader in Thailand with a share of sales at 42.6 percent, while Japanese manufacturer Isuzu accounted for 20.6 percent.

-- AFP 2009-08-14

[sunsamourai]

Very good news : far too many on the roads already !

[NCFC]

Car Sales Down - yet I still had to wait 12 weeks for my new Honda Accord.

[selftaopath]

Perhaps potential buyers think the prices should be lower. I recently purchased a second hand/used vehicle. It cost about 8-10 times more in Thailand than it would have in USA. Is the Thai tax structure the cause of such high prices?

An aside: I believe Triumph motorcycles are made in Thailand but the cost are still high. Hard to figure.

cheers,

k