Two leading automakers expect further buoyancy in the domestic market, with Isuzu predicting industry sales to hit a record high of 725,000 units this year while Honda foresees the volume rising to 800,000 units in 2013.
Commercial vehicle specialist Isuzu's 2010 forecast is 32 per cent per cent higher than last year's total, thanks to the favourable sales environment. Honda, however, is being most conservative by predicting overall auto sales of more than 650,000 units, which is 20 per cent higher than last year's level. Honda, which has now revised its sales prediction for the year three times, expects to sell 110,000 vehicles for a 17per cent market share. This is up from the previous targets of 100,000 and 95,000 units. Both automakers attribute better sales to returning consumer confidence and a recovering economy. Shigeru Wakabayashi, vice president of Tripetch Isuzu Sales, the distributor of Isuzu vehicles in Thailand, said a total of 311,750 pickups (up 25.76 per cent) and 40,000 private passenger vehicles (up 42.83 per cent) are expected to be sold in 2010, followed by 319,000 passenger cars (up 38.67 per cent) and another 54,300 sales from various vehicle types. Among the factors contributing to the growth in the pickup market are exports, oil prices, agricultural product prices, politics and finance conditions, said Wakabayashi. Due to the improving global economy, Thai exports are growing, he said, adding that exports contribute to 60 per cent of gross domestic product. Both automakers agreed that the domestic political situation had not affected auto sales too heavily. "In May 2010, total exports from Thailand reached US$16.6 billion [Bt536 billion] in value, up 42.1 per cent compared to the corresponding month last year," he said, adding that major export products include computer components, automo¬biles, jewellery and petroleum products.In the first six months of the year, the automobile market expanded by 154 per cent year on year to 356,692 units, while the pas¬sengercar market expanded by 160 per cent to 153,273 units, repre¬senting a 43percent rise. Both automakers said the Thai automobile market was recovering swiftly, although the share accounted for by pickups could be smaller than that previously held by the seg¬ment. Atsushi Fujimoto, president of Honda Automobile Thailand, said: "We are very confident in the growth of Thailand's automobile market due to its stable economy, rising income levels and the Thai government's sound supportive investment policies. It is our belief that the automobile market will adopt an uptrend in the long term, and that the market share of passenger cars will be on a par with pickup trucks sold in Thailand within a half of decade." Honda sold 51,782 units in the first six months of the year, up 30 per cent from the same period last year (39,967 units). The sales gave Honda a mar¬ket share of 14.5 per cent and a topthree ranking in the Kingdom's automobile market. Thai con¬sumers are also gradually shifting their driving needs from pickups and large sedans towards small, fuelefficient cars. This year, three new small cars have entered the market, namely the Nissan March, Ford Fiesta and Mazda2. The Nissan March comes under the government'ecocar project, for which Honda is also producing a car. Honda's second factory, which cost Bt6.2 billion to build, will start production of the company's eco car probably late this year. It is expected to launch in the Thai market in early 2011.