5
NEWS
Thai new-car production on the rise again
Industry analyst forecasts 15 per cent growth for Thailand next year, after a dismal 2014Vehicle production in Thailand slumped in 2014, but Ipsos Business Consulting predicts the country will bounce back next year.
One of Australia's larger trading partners – only Japan builds more cars for Australian consumption – Thailand built its automotive industry on the back of one-tonne pick-ups. But in recent years it has been diversifying.
That, however, hasn't staved off a slump in production this year. Projected to reach 1.95 million vehicles built by the end of the year, the country's total production figure is set for a 21.3 per cent drop, based on a year on year comparison with the 2013 number – 2.48 million. To put that in perspective, such a drop in Australia would equate to half the market for the year.
But Ipsos Business Consulting predicts the Thai industry will recover much of that lost ground in 2015. According to Ipsos the 2015 forecast is 2.25 million units, which represents a 15.38 per cent upturn from this year.
The analyst blames domestic issues for the rapid decline in demand this year, but anticipates that with government investment to secure 'Eco Car Phase 2' production from Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, SAIC and Volkswagen the pendulum will swing back.
Balanced against that, however, is the risk posed by increasing levels of personal debt in Thailand, says Ipsos Country Manager Sanpichit Songpaisan.
"The automotive industry will welcome the expected return to growth in 2015, which will help to consolidate Thailand's position as the ASEAN hub" Songpaisan was quoted saying in a press release.
"However, when looking at personal debt levels in Thailand, it should be noted that there is still no sufficient clarity on these significant risks for the automotive industry as well as those involved in auto financing. We could find that the financial institutions start to adopt much more rigorous criteria for screening and approval of auto loans, with a knock-on effect on domestic demand".
Tags
Share this article
Written byCarsales Staff
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todayDisclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Contact
Advertise with us
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.