Thai domestic car sales drop 4.2% in 2021 but expected to be higher this year

FILE PHOTO: A general view during the media day of the 41st Bangkok International Motor Show after the Thai government eased measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Bangkok, Thailand July 14, 2020. - Reuters

BANGKOK, Jan 24 (Reuters): Domestic car sales in Thailand fell 17.2% in December from a year earlier and dropped 4.2% in the whole of 2021, due to coronavirus outbreaks and a shortage of microchips, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said on Monday.

Car sales totalled 86,145 units in December and 759,119 vehicles in all 2021, slightly above target, the FTI said.

In 2022, the FTI still forecasts car sales at 800,000 to 850,000 vehicles, or a rise of 5.4% to 12%, supported by easing of travel curbs and economic recovery, Surapong Paisitpattanapong, a spokesperson for FTI's automotive industry division, told a briefing.

Thailand is a regional vehicle production and export base for the world's top carmakers, including Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi.

The industry accounts for about 10% of Thailand's gross domestic product and its manufacturing jobs.

Car exports, however, jumped about 48% in December from a year earlier and rose 30.4% in the whole of 2021, the FTI said. It predicts car exports to rise by 4.3% to 1 million vehicles in 2022. - Reuters