Vehicle sales slump 23% in January
Thailand's vehicle market has taken a severe blow from the slump in consumer confidence, with sales in January falling 23.4 per cent from the same month last year
In terms of volume, auto sales were the lowest in 48 months. Surprisingly, the fall was mainly due to a sharp drop in sales of one-tonne pickup trucks, the segment holding the biggest market share. Toyota Motors Thailand senior vice president Wuthikorn Suriyaethantananond said yesterday that the pickup market had dived 33.5 per cent year on year. According to figures compiled by Toyota in January, only 23,576 one-tonne pickups were sold. That represents a 60.35-per-cent drop from December when 33,338 were sold, according to data from Tri Petch Isuzu Sales. "In December, we witnessed active sales campaigns from all auto companies. Also, buyers were waiting for a clearer picture on the economy and the stock market. The economy remains sluggish due to inflation and volatile oil prices," Wuthikorn said. "However, this is not an unusual phenomenon. Sales in the first quarter are usually down, but we are confident it will recover later on," he said. Wuthikorn added that since the beginning of this month, sales had grown due to the launch of new models - Toyota's Camry, a new Honda CRV and Nissan's Navara pickup. "This month, the Chinese New Year celebration could encourage consumers to spend more, hopefully on new cars," he said. In terms of market share, according to Tri Petch Isuzu data, Toyota maintains its lead with 43.28 per cent on 16,726 units sold. Next comes Isuzu, which holds a share of 24.35 per cent on sales of 9,408 units. Trailing them are Honda, Mitsubishi and Chevrolet.
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