Domestic car sales are expected to increase between April and May as automakers deliver cars to customers following enthusiastic bookings at the Bangkok International Motor Show, says Toyota Motor Thailand.
Car companies launched attractive marketing campaigns to draw buyers and persuade them to buy new cars, said executive vice-president Suphakorn Rattanawaraha.
"This event is normally considered a booster for car sales. Companies offer their best marketing campaigns," he said.
At the 12-day event that ended on April 2, cars with internal combustion engines commanded the most bookings, amounting to 33,651 units, a year-on-year increase of more than 34%.
Bookings for electric vehicles (EVs) tallied 9,234 units, making up 21.5% of total bookings, according to organisers.
Last year, car bookings totalled 31,896 units, a surge from 27,871 in 2021 and 18,394 in 2020, during which Thailand was walloped by the pandemic.
The significant increase in EV bookings was attributed to the government policy to promote the use of eco-friendly cars, said industry observers. Last year the cabinet approved a package of incentives including tax cuts and subsidies to promote EV consumption and production between 2022 and 2023.
"Many prospective car buyers delayed their decisions to buy new cars until this year's Motor Show," said Mr Suphakorn, adding they wanted to benefit from marketing campaigns.
In March, Toyota's sales in the domestic market totalled 25,713 cars, a year-on-year decrease of 14.3%.
The company still commanded the largest market share of 32.2% for all car segments.
Coming second was Isuzu with sales of 17,133 units, a year-on-year decrease of 21.4%. Its market share totalled 21.4%.
Honda was third with 10,185 cars sold, a year-on-year increase of 1.8%. Its market share was 12.7%.
According to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), total domestic car sales in March dropped by 8.37% year-on-year to 79,943. This was attributed to financial institutions tightening regulations on loans following the interest rate hikes and reports on high levels of household debt.
These tighter rules made it more difficult for potential buyers to obtain loans, said Surapong Paisitpatanapong, spokesman for the FTI's Automotive Industry Club.
