Thailand First Quarter 2014: New vehicle sales down 46%

Pick-up sales drop slightly less than the overall Thai market so far in 2014.

* See the Top 8 best-selling pickups by clicking on the title! Thanks Falconz *

It’s a wretched year so far for the Thai new light vehicle market, with sales down a horrendous 46% over the First Quarter 2014, while pick-up sales are down 41% in March to 35,765 and down 39% year-to-date to 96,951. In an article written on the day of last week’s coup d’état, French organisation CCFA notes that the political instability in the country is finally catching up with the Thai economy in general (the GDP is down year-on-year over Q1 2014) and its automotive industry in particular.

Japanese manufacturers have helped make Thailand the pick-up factory of the world: Toyota, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Mazda all produce 1 ton pick-ups locally, along with General Motors and Ford, and for the first time, they are expressing their concerns about the current situation in the country. A few hours after martial law was imposed last week, Japanese government’s spokesperson Yoshihide Suga said “we have great concerns regarding the Thai situation” which is Japanese terms is a remarkably strong choice of words. Japan is by far the first direct investor in the country, with $6.9 billion invested in the country in 2013 by Japanese companies, over half of the total amount invested in Thailand last year.

Previous post: Thailand (pick-ups) February 2014: Ford Ranger stays afloat

One year ago: Thailand Pick-ups March 2013: Toyota Hilux reclaims throne

Full March 2014 Top 8 pick-ups Ranking Table below.