Thailand’s passenger car sales drop by over 44% year-on-year

Thailand’s domestic car sales dropped by over 21% last month, with passenger car sales plummeting by over 44% year-on-year. The Bangkok Post reports that the resurgence of the Covid-19 virus late last year has affected consumer confidence and buying power. The sale of commercial vehicles is also down by 5.4% year-on-year.

Surasak Suthongwan from Toyota Motor Thailand, says people are worried about the second outbreak’s impact on employment prospects and the economy as a whole, which is putting them off buying cars. He says that the automotive sector is still trying to recover from the effects of the original outbreak of the virus and that other sectors, such as the tourism industry, are at a standstill.

“Those factors caused domestic car sales to drop and the company is closely monitoring the economic situation and the pandemic.”

Toyota has a 32.2% share of the domestic market and domestic sales this month are also expected to be affected by the ongoing crisis. However, the automotive firm says it expects the government’s stimulus campaigns will help the economy and give consumer spending a boost.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post