The FINANCIAL — Vehicle production in Thailand fell 1.72% in March from a year earlier to 178,217 units, according to the Federation of Thai Industries.
Vehicle production fell 0.52% in March from a month earlier, the FTI’s Automotive Industry Club said. For the first quarter of 2015, auto production rose 1.36% to 524,540 units, according to Nasdaq.
In terms of sales, domestic distribution of vehicles fell 11.7% from a year earlier but rose 15.9% from a month earlier to 74,117 units in March. Sales also dropped 11.78% in the first quarter of 2015 from a year earlier to 197,787 units.
The auto club attributed ongoing declines in local vehicle sales to slower-than-expected government budget disbursement and investment, high household debt, weak farm product prices, stricter loan approvals by banks and slow private investment.
Thailand’s vehicle exports hit an all-time high in March when shipments rose 12.63% from a year earlier to 127,619 units, aided by exports to Europe, North America and Australia.
In the first quarter, auto export volume rose 12.6% from a year earlier to 328,232 units, while export value rose 7.74% year-over-year to 146.88 billion baht ($4.5 billion).
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