Car sales in Thailand rebound in October

Thailand’s auto sales jumped 8.8 percent in October from a year earlier for two consecutive months due to high domestic production and demand, and a surge in the tourism industry, according the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

Total domestic auto sales in the first ten months of this year reached 419,755 units, including 53,271 units in October, state news agency TNA quoted Surapong Paisitpattanapong, spokesman for the FTI’s automotive sector, as saying.

The sales from January to October fell by 17.70 percent year-on-year although numbers were up 8.8 percent from the previous month.

Meanwhile, auto production in October totalled 115,043 units, marking the highest figure since December 2008, said Surapong. Total auto production in the first ten months of 2009 reached 766,671 units, down 35.76 percent.

In October, Thailand manufactured 80,981 trucks, down 29.03 percent, while one-tonne pickup truck production slipped to 79,322 units, down 38.75 percent.

The values of Thai auto and motorcycle exports, engine parts and spare parts completely reached 326.321 billion baht ($1=33.4 baht), plummeting 32.77 percent from the same period last year said the spokesman.

The FTI forecast that the country’s total auto production starting from November 2009 through January 2010 will reach 332,164—a 21.62 percent surge year-on-year.

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