Thailand April 2014: Honda City back in the game

Honda City

* See the Top 50 best-selling models & Top 20 brands by clicking on the title! Thanks Austin *

Handicapped by the unstable political situation and the end of incentives to first car buyers, the Thai new light vehicle market is down 33% year-on-year in April to 73,260 registrations. Although sharp, the drop is less than it has been year-to-date: so far in 2014 just 298,077 new light vehicles found a buyer in Thailand, compared to 522,929 at the same time last year, a horrendous 43% year-on-year drop. Toyota continues to dominate the brands ranking head and shoulders with 36.4% of the market in April and 37.2% year-to-date, levels comparable to Japan… Thanks to the D-Max pick-up, Isuzu remains the #2 manufacturer in Thailand with 18.4% in April and 18.8% year-to-date with Honda rounding up the podium just under 10% share.

The Mazda3 is up to #15 this month in Thailand.

The locally produced Toyota Hilux is the most popular vehicle in Thailand once again this mont thanks to 11,712 sales and 16% share vs. 14.9% for the Isuzu D-Max, while the Toyota Vios reclaims its traditional third spot at 3,585 units and 4.9% share. Boosted by its facelift, the Honda City is back in the game, only 15 sales below the Vios in 4th place and above the newly relauched Toyota Yaris. In fact, the City accounts for over 50% of Honda’s sales in the country so far this year. Notice also the Suzuki Swift at #9, Isuzu MU-X at #10, Mazda3 up 22 spots on January to #15, and the Ford Ecosport (#24) and Nissan Livina (#45) making their first appearance in the Thai ranking.

Previous post: Thailand First Quarter 2014: New vehicle sales down 46%

Previous detailed sales post: Thailand January 2014: Toyota Yaris nails it, Isuzu MU-X #10

One year ago: Thailand 5 months 2013: Discover the Top 35 best-selling models!

Full April 2014 Top 50 models and Top 20 brands Ranking Tables below.