In October 2024, Thailand’s auto sales fell 28% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2024 and 9.5% month-on-month. This data once again highlights the long-term downturn facing the Thai auto market, and sales have fallen for 16 consecutive months. Analysts pointed out that Thailand’s household debt problem has seriously affected consumers’ demand for car purchases, resulting in continued weakness in the new car market.
According to data released by the Thai Automobile Association, new car sales in the third quarter of 2024 were xx million, a sharp drop of 28% compared with the same period last year. At the same time, there was a 9.5% decline month-on-month, indicating that the hope of a market recovery is difficult to achieve in the short term. This phenomenon not only reflects the overall downturn in the auto market, but also shows the serious lack of consumer purchasing power.
One of the root causes of the weakness of the Thai auto market is believed to be the country’s long-standing high level of household debt. According to data from the Bank of Thailand, Thailand’s household debt accounts for more than 90% of GDP, far higher than the global average. This puts most consumers under great financial pressure when buying cars, especially for families who need to borrow money to buy cars. Higher debt levels and loan interest rates directly limit their ability to buy cars.
Since June 2023, Thailand’s auto sales have fallen for 16 consecutive months. Although some automakers and dealers have tried to stimulate demand through promotions and discounts, the market is still difficult to resume growth.
The Thai Automobile Association predicts that in the current economic environment, it will be difficult for the market to resume growth in the short term, and consumer purchasing confidence has not been effectively boosted. Although the Thai government has taken some measures to stimulate consumption in recent years, these measures seem to have failed to effectively solve the high debt dilemma, resulting in a weak market recovery.