July 2025 Production Results
Thailand's Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) announced on August 25 that July automotive production totaled 110,616 units, down 11.4% year-on-year. Breakdown by vehicle type: Passenger cars 38,400 units (down 16.6% year-on-year), commercial vehicles including pickup trucks 72,216 units (down 8.3%). By destination: Exports 74,100 units (down 15.4%) accounting for 67.0% of total production, domestic sales 36,516 units (down 2.1%).
January-July 2025 Cumulative Results
Production cumulative: 835,331 units, down 5.7% year-on-year. Passenger cars 303,068 units (down 8.0%), commercial vehicles 532,263 units (down 4.4%). Cumulative by destination: Exports 549,113 units (down 9.0%), domestic sales 286,218 units (up 1.4%).
Domestic Sales Trends
July domestic sales totaled 49,102 units, up 5.8% year-on-year, marking four consecutive months of growth. However, the January-July cumulative total remained at 351,796 units, down 0.7% year-on-year, indicating limited recovery.
Chinese Manufacturers' Market Share Expansion
Passenger Car Market: Chinese manufacturers' January-July cumulative market share increased 3.2 percentage points from 18.8% for full-year 2024 to 22.0%. Japanese manufacturers declined 3.4 percentage points from 64.8% to 61.4%. Commercial Vehicle Market: Chinese manufacturers' market share surged 5.7 percentage points from 7.1% to 12.8%. Japanese manufacturers dropped 8.5 percentage points from 84.4% to 75.9%. Overall Market Share: Chinese manufacturers overall increased 5.0 percentage points from 11.6% to 16.6%. Japanese manufacturers declined 6.4 percentage points from 76.7% to 70.3%, clearly showing Chinese offensive momentum.
Export Performance and Future Challenges
July finished vehicle exports totaled 72,439 units, down 13.3% year-on-year, with export value down 16.9% to approximately 46.9 billion baht (approximately 215.7 billion yen). January-July cumulative finished vehicle exports were 531,796 units, down 11.7%, with export value down 14.0% to approximately 361.2 billion baht. Market encroachment by Chinese companies including BYD, SAIC Motor (MG), Changan Automobile, and Great Wall Motor has become a factor in declining competitiveness of Japanese manufacturers.