Toyota Motor (Thailand) reported domestic auto sales of 49.6K in January, up a record 54.5% YoY, but down 31.2% MoM. The YoY improvement was supported by a positive industry backdrop boosting consumer spending, such as local economic recovery, improved consumer confidence and low base in 2009. Domestic auto sales dropped MoM from December due to seasonality, as December’s auto sales are typically high because of the Motor Expo (there were 72.1K automobiles sold in December, including 25K automobile orders placed at the Motor Expo).

A Government House source quoted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as saying at yesterday’s cabinet meeting that the US carmaker, which is planning to invest 20 billion baht, wants the government to find solutions to the Map Ta Phut issue as soon as possible. Ford is scheduled to sign a contract on Feb 15 with Hemaraj Land and Development Plc for land at the Hemaraj Industrial Estate, which covers parts of Chon Buri and Rayong provinces. The company might change its investment location if the government’s solutions were delayed, said the premier.

Three banks have agreed to lend General Motors (Thailand) Bt13.5b to finance two vehicle programmes and construction of a new diesel-engine plant in Rayong province. Chansak Fuangfu, vice president for wholesale business at Bangkok Bank (BBL), said his bank and Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) were joint lead arrangers, lending Bt6b apiece, while Tisco Bank would provide Bt1.5b. The loan term is seven years. (The Nation)

Thai Stanley Electric reported a FY3Q10 (October – December 2009) net profit of Bt286mn, up 17.3% YoY and 36.9% QoQ. Excluding FX gain, normalized profit was Bt281mn, rising 9.8% YoY and 31.2% QoQ. The result was above the market expectation of Bt230-240mn. A higher-than-expected gross margin was the reason earnings beat expectations.

Thailand is set to benefit tremendously from the elimination of import duties on automobiles and parts under the Asean Free Trade Area scheme, industry leaders say. The 5% tax on automobiles and parts traded among the six founding Asean countries -Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia – was abolished on January 1, in a move towards turning Asean into a single market. This would help Asean nations become more competitive against other Asian giants – particularly China and India.

Local automobile production is projected to almost double in the first quarter this year in line with the recovering economy, says Surapong Phaisitpatthanapong, spokesman for Federation of Thai Industries’ automobile industry club. Production of all types of vehicles in three months to March is expected to jump 93.84% to 385,693 units from 198,972 in the same period last year. Vehicle production in the first quarter in 2009 wobbled from the global economic downturn that started in 2008. Production for the first quarter this year will rise only 10.9% from the last quarter in 2009.

Car exports last month rose to 53,600 units or 23.86% year-on-year, Federation of Thai Industries’ Automotive Industry Club spokesman Surapong Paisitpattanapong said. However, auto exports in December dropped 58,665 units or 8.63 per cent from November. Last month’s export value was 25.21 billion baht, up 41.81 per cent. Throughout 2009, car exports stood at 535,563 units, down 31.01 per cent year-on-year. The export value was 251.34 billion baht, down 21.94 per cent from 2008. Mr Surapong said 111,722 cars were produced last month, 32.06 per cent higher year-on-year but 7.66 per cent lower from Nov 2009. A total of 999,378 cars were manufactured last year, 28.31 per cent lower from 2008. Domestic auto sales last month stood at 72, 085 units, hitting a three year high. The figure was 22.2 per cent higher from the same period of 2008. A total of 548,871 cars were sold last year, down 10.8 per cent from 2008. ”The increase of auto sales in the past four months was due to the rising confidence of consumers and the auto industry, in addition to the government’s stimulus measures, higher prices of agricultural products and improved tourism since the third quarter last year,” he said. The Automotive Industry Club forecast that 385,693 cars would be produced in the first quarter of this year, or 10.91 per cent higher from the previous quarter. Auto production between Oct and Dec 2009 was at 347,750 units.

Auto sales in December jumped to 72,085 units, a 22.2 percent increase from the same period last year. Some of the increase was attributed to bookings at the Thailand International Motor Expo.  Mazda saw its sale increase 176 per cent on year, while other premium players like BMW and niche players like Hyundai and Tata also posted high sales for the month. Yet, the most successful brand in December was Toyota in terms of sale volume, with the sale of 28,342 units. It represented a 9.1 per cent increase on year. Falling the second was Isuzu with sale of 14,113 units and a growth of 23.9 percent. Honda comes at the third place with 11,851 units sold and a growth of 9.7 percent. In fourth place was Nissan, which had sales of 4,990 units and a growth of 67 percent. In fifth place was Mitsubishi which has sales of 3015 units and saw a growth of 58.6 percent. Every segment in the market saw the growth, with the passenger car segment seeing a growth of 27.7 percent, followed by the pickup market which saw a growth of 11.4 percent and the PPV segment which saw a growth of 45 percent. (The Nation)

Automobile sales in Thailand, Southeast Asia’s biggest market, may rise 9 percent in 2010 to 600,000 units amid an economic rebound, Toyota Motor Corp.’s Thai unit said in a statement. Vehicle sales dropped 11 percent in 2009 to 548,871 units, according to a press release distributed before a briefing in Bangkok today.

Thailand’s automotive industry is set to be a major beneficiary of the China-Asean Free Trade Area (Cafta), which came into effect on January 1, but it may not yet translate into big gains for consumers.