Thailand eyes production of 1.4 mln cars this year as COVID-19 restriction eases

The Federation of Thai Industries' Automotive Industry Club said on Wednesday that it forecast a production of 1.42 million cars this year, exceeding the target by 20,000 units, thanks to the Thai government's easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Production for domestic sales is also set to meet the target of 700,000 and climb as high as 720,000, said club vice president and spokesman Surapong Pisitpattanapong. "However only if there is no recurrence of infection," he added.

Production for exports is also expected to meet the 700,000 target, so long as Thailand's main automobile buyers from Europe don't experience a severe second wave of the outbreak in their countries, said Surapong.

The total production in October was 149,360 units, down 2.24 percent year-on-year.

Production for domestic sales, which accounts for more than half of total production, rose 18.81 percent year-on-year to 82,157.

The figure reflects growth for two consecutive months, the club vice president said.

Production for export in October dropped 19.65 percent to 67,203 units.

The export value for finished vehicles, including auto parts, spare parts, and motorcycles and spare parts, was just over 65 billion baht (2.1 billion U.S. dollars), a drop of 6.7 percent year-on-year.

The export value from January-October was at 520.5 billion baht (17.1 billion U.S. dollars), a fall of 28.87 percent year-on-year.