Thailand car production rises in January but local sales drop

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Car production in Thailand rose 4.02% in January from a year earlier to 157,844 units, helped by higher exports, the Federation of Thai Industries said on Tuesday.

Domestic sales, however, fell 5.58% in January from a year earlier, after December’s 9% decline on-year, due to a lack of semiconductors in some car models, Surapong Paisitpattanapong, a spokesperson for FTI’s automotive industry division told a news conference.

Exports jumped 24.28% in January from a year earlier after December’s 10.17% rise year-on-year, and shipments could reach 1.05 million vehicles this year, he said.

In December, car production rose 2.75% year-on-year.

Thailand is a regional vehicle production and export base for some of the world’s top car makers, including Toyota and Honda.

(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)