Thailand's auto market sales soar 53%, EV deliveries hit record

According to Thai media reports, the latest data released by the Automotive Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) shows that the domestic car sales in January reached 73,936 units. The surge in sales is attributed to the implementation of the final phase of the government's EV 3.0 plan and the transition to the EV 3.5 plan, which requires a production compensation ratio of 1:2 (for every 1 imported vehicle, 2 must be produced domestically). Driven by this policy, the sales of passenger cars and SUVs soared by 76.2% and 93.6% respectively.

In sharp contrast to the booming development of electric vehicles, the pickup truck market, which is a pillar of the Thai economy, shrank by 5.5%. Industry analysts point out that the weak domestic economic growth and the decline in consumer purchasing power have created a "perfect storm" for this phenomenon.

Financial institutions have significantly tightened the loan approval criteria, resulting in a high rejection rate for car loan applications. Affected by this, the capacity utilization rate of the entire manufacturing industry is currently less than 60%.

Despite the uneven performance of the industry, the Federation of Thai Industries pointed out that the macroeconomic signals in the fourth quarter of 2025 were encouraging, with a growth of 2.5%. Driven by a 12.2% increase in factory construction and a 21.8% surge in machinery imports, private - sector investment increased by 6.5%.

Surapong, the spokesperson for the Automotive Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries, is optimistic about the coming year and has set a production target of 550,000 units, a 10% increase compared to 2025. However, he emphasized that the sustained economic recovery largely depends on the policies of the new government. (Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Kingdom of Thailand)