Thai auto market eyes 9% growth

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Thai auto market eyes 9% growth 
Bangkok Post: 22 Jan 2010
Market eyes 9% growth

December closed out 2009 with sales of 72,085 new vehicles resulting in record hauls for the month in all major categories and the best year-ending performance in three years.

According to data compiled by Toyota, the total haul of 548,871 vehicles in 2009 was down 10.8% when compared to 2008 and slightly off the projected forecast of 550,000 units made earlier in the year.

Both the passenger car and pick-up segments posted annual highs by surpassing the 30,000-mark for the first time in December. Sales of passenger cars totalled 30,341 units and pick-ups 31,874 units. The year-end push in December was the strongest recovery since 2006 when the market posted sales of 84,478 units.

The passenger car segment which wound up with 230,037 units last year emerged as the only category to post a 1.4% growth year-on-year, improving on November when the segment was in the red at -1.7%.

A total of 247,887 pick-ups were sold last year as the segment picked up pace from November by 3.2% but it still ended up with a deficit of -20.4% for the year.

Market leader Toyota said the beginning of 2009 was adversely affected by the economic downturn but rebounded in the third and fourth quarters.

Toyota Motor Thailand president Kyoichi Tanada said: "Our overall sales decreased 12.1% for a 42% market share. Toyota sales will increase by 11.5% to 257,000 units and 42.8% market share in 2010."

Top-tier powerhouses Toyota, Isuzu and Honda all lost 0.1% in market share when compared to November figures, yet Honda was the only brand to come out with a 2.9% growth year-on-year on sales of 93,409 units despite the industry average dropping by 10.8%.

Nissan led all second-tier brands with sales of 30,401 units, thanks in part to its best December haul of 4,990 units.

Nissan Motor Thailand forecast sales of 45,000 units this year which would translate into a growth of 47.9% over 2009.

Mazda, the sixth-best selling nameplate, is gunning for an ambitious 164% growth this year compared to the 13,241 vehicles it sold last year with the help of the 2 hatchback and the pending saloon body.

Meanwhile, the industry has forecast sales of 600,000 units this year, a growth of 9% over 2009.

Passenger cars

Toyota took segment honours with sales of 100,747 vehicles and 43.8% market share, which was down 0.6 percentage points from November. However, Honda bested its previous mark by 7.6% on sales of 88,125 units and 38.3% market share.

Chevrolet topped contenders in the second-tier with sales of 7,164 units and 3.1% market share, while Mercedes-Benz led the premium luxury market with sales of 3,812 units compared to rival BMW's 2,005 units.

Nissan had its best December figures (4,990 units) thanks to its highest-selling monthly haul for the Teana (711 units) since 2004 and the minor-change Tiida (997 units) since 2006.

The Japanese brands maintained their iron-fisted grip on this segment with 91.6% share of the market. Korean brands Hyundai (359 units) and Kia (218 units) combined for 0.3%, while American and European marques took a combined 6.2%. Proton, the other Asian brand besides Tata, had 1.3% market share.

Pick-ups The battle between Toyota and Isuzu ended with the former emerging on top with 41.2% market share and the latter taking 39.3%.

Nissan is mentioned in the same breath as the first-tier batch based on sales of 20,541 units and a 8.3% market share.

However, the disparity between the top two brands is still evident. Chevrolet jumped two spots, up from seventh to fifth from November, while Tata continued to post a steady, ending up with 0.6% market share on sales of 1,566 units.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/auto/autoscoop/31463/market-eyes-9-growth