Thailand’s car sales hit historic high in May 2012

BANGKOK, June 19 (TNA) - Car sales in Thailand hit a new monthly record high of 115,900 units in May 2012, also the historic highest since the Kingdom first started vehicle sales several decades ago, thanks to strong domestic demand driven by the country’s rebounding economy and resumption of car production in the wake of a flooding crisis late last year. Wuthikorn Suriyachanthananond, Vice President of Toyota Motors Thailand, said Tuesday that the historic car sales in May were found to be a 107.6 per cent year-on-year surge. Wuthikorn acknowledged that last month local car manufacturers sold 55,900 units of passenger cars alone, a jump by 137.5 per cent year-on-year, also marking the country’s new monthly record high for the category, along with 52,100 units of one-tonne pick-ups, a leap by 89.4 per cent year-on-year. For the first five months of this year, according to the Toyota vice president, Thailand's vehicle sales totaled 483,000 units, up by 33.5 per cent compared to the same period of last year, including 197,000 units of passenger sedans, a 22.6 per cent year-on-year increase, and 285,900 units of commercial vehicles, a 42.2 per cent year-on-year increase. The Toyota vice president assessed that Thailand's vehicle sales should keep expanding this month due to local manufacturers' full resumption of their production, enabling more car deliveries to customers. (TNA)