BANGKOK, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's auto production continued to drop in April due to long holidays and weaker demand in the domestic market, data from the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) showed on Thursday.
Thai auto manufacturers produced 104,667 vehicles in April, down 11.02 percent from a year earlier and slowing from a 23.08 percent plunge in March, owing to a major fall in the output of pickup trucks and internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger cars, according to the FTI.
However, battery electric vehicle manufacturing jumped 2,476 percent year-on-year to 644 units in April as local production picked up pace, while that of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) expanded 106.43 percent to 13,732 units, the FTI said in a statement.
For the first four months of 2024, auto production fell 17.05 percent over the previous year to 518,790 units, said Surapong Paisitpattanapong, the FTI's automotive industry club vice president and spokesperson.
Domestic auto sales plunged 21.49 percent year-on-year to 46,738 units in April, brought down by lower sales of pickup trucks despite a significant gain in sales of HEVs, Surapong told a news conference.
The decline was attributed to weak local demand from a delay in the government's fiscal budget disbursement and toughened standards for auto loan applications, he added.
The Southeast Asian country's finished car exports decreased 12.23 percent from a year earlier to 70,160 units in April, dragged down by lower shipments of ICE passenger cars and pickup trucks, despite a substantial increase in HEVs, the FTI said. ■