Korean media: Japanese cars are on the decline in the Thai market, Chinese cars set a new high!

On November 20, the Korean media "Chosun Ilbo" published an article stating that for a long time, Japanese cars have dominated the Thai automotive market, but in recent years, the share of Chinese cars has also been expanding continuously.

Japanese car manufacturers entered Thailand in the 1960s and established assembly plants. They took advantage of the AICO system, which provides low tariffs of 0% to 5% for parts procurement from the ASEAN region. This system enabled them to establish a division of labor supply chain, with engines and transmissions procured from Thailand and the Philippines respectively, and assembly carried out in Indonesia. In 2010, Japan's share in the Thai automotive market reached 92.3%.

However, the Thai automotive market once monopolized by Japanese car companies is showing cracks. With the transition to electric vehicles, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers such as BYD are expanding their market share in Thailand by emphasizing low prices.

According to "Nikkei Asia", in April, the share of Japanese carmakers in new car sales in Thailand was 65%, down 25 percentage points from 90% in the same period last year. Among them, Toyota ranked first with a market share of 38%, but its sales decreased by 8%; Isuzu's sales also fell by 18%, with a market share of only 12%; Honda's sales fell by 42%, with a market share of only 7%.

At the same time, six Chinese automakers, including BYD, achieved record sales, reaching 24%. Among them, BYD led with 14% sales. BYD's sales in April increased by 7.3 times compared to the same period last year, exceeding Isuzu (12%) and Honda (7%). BYD's cumulative sales in Thailand have exceeded 100,000 units recently.

BYD currently sells seven models in Thailand, including ATTO 3, Seagull, Dolphin, Sea Lion 7, etc. Local dealers said that ATTO 3 and Sea Lion 7 are the most popular.

Hyundai Motor Company has also started targeting the Thai market. In August last year, Hyundai Motor invested 1 billion Thai baht to start construction of an electric vehicle assembly plant and battery module factory in Thailand. Starting next year, Hyundai plans to produce 5,000 electric vehicles annually in Thailand, including the Ioniq 5.

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1849309477246343/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.