Thailand’s vehicle output in 2014 slumps 23.5% on year

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The figure was down 23.5% year-on-year, according to latest data released by the Thailand Automotive Institute (TAI).

The auto industry in Thailand has been grappling with plummeting domestic sales over the past year due to a sluggish economy, tighter loan conditions and falling agricultural prices, Surapong Paisitpatnapong, spokesman for the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)’s Automotive Industry Club, told Steel First.

Last month, automakers in the country produced 153,669 vehicles, down 3.3 % from a year earlier, while domestic sales totalled 89,504 units, a decline of 21.4%. For the whole of 2014, domestic sales registered a 33.7% year-on-year fall at 881,832 units.

Exports in December reached 89,146 units, up a marginal 1.35% from the same period last year. Exports over whole of 2014 totalled 1.13 million units, unchanged from the previous year.