FILE PHOTO: Vehicles are seen stuck in traffic along a road in Bangkok, Thailand December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo
BANGKOK : Domestic car sales in Thailand rose 15.64 per cent in September from a year earlier to 74,150 units, helped by an economic recovery and new car models, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said on Thursday.
That compared with August’s 61.72 per cent year-on-year jump. In the January to September period, car sales increased 19.13 per cent from a year earlier.
Car sales should meet a target of 850,000 vehicles in the whole of 2022, and could reach 900,000 vehicles if a shortage of micro chips eases, the FTI said.
Thailand is a regional vehicle production and export base for the world’s top carmakers, including Toyota and Honda.
Car production in Thailand rose 27.99 per cent in September from a year earlier to 179,237 units, compared with August’s 64.90 per cent year-on-year surge.
In September, car exports jumped 35.97 per cent from a year earlier to 100,389 unit, the FTI said.
The industry accounts for about 10 per cent of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy and its manufacturing jobs.