The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) anticipates that motorcycle production in the current year will exceed the initial target of 2.1 million units. This positive outlook is attributed to the recovery of the tourism industry and the alleviation of the global semiconductor shortage.
Surapong Paisitpatanapong, the vice-chairman and spokesperson for the FTI’s Automotive Industry Club, points to the reopening of borders and the resurgence of tourism as the main drivers behind this increased demand, especially among foreign tourists who prefer motorcycle travel.
At the beginning of the year, the FTI had projected local motorcycle production for 2023 to be at 2.1 million units, with an expectation that 1.75 million units would serve the domestic market and the remaining 350,000 units would be exported. However, the FTI’s report indicates that Thailand’s motorcycle production capacity in July decreased by 7.84% compared to the previous year, totaling 194,773 units. Completely built-up (CBU) units increased by 11.1% year on year, reaching 170,123 units, while completely knocked-down (CKD) units experienced a significant decline, dropping by 57.6% year on year to 24,650 units.
From January to July, production capacity grew by 3.08% year-on-year to 1,501,470 units. During this period, CBU output increased by 19.3% year-on-year to 1,297,727 units, whereas CKD output decreased by 44.8% year-on-year to 203,743 units.
In July, domestic motorcycle sales surged by 12.7% year-on-year to 150,779 units. Sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles mirrored this increase, rising by 12.7% year-on-year to 150,770 units. However, sales of hybrid motorcycles experienced a significant drop, falling by 81.3% year-on-year to just nine units.
For the first seven months, domestic motorcycle sales showed an overall increase of 10% year-on-year to 1,144,760 units. During this period, sales of ICE motorcycles increased by 10% to 1,143,722 units. Hybrid motorcycle sales decreased by 9.11% year-on-year to 818 units, while battery-powered motorcycles witnessed a significant increase, doubling to 220 units.
Regarding exports, the FTI reported a slight decline of 1.72% year-on-year in July, totaling 64,238 units. Despite the decrease, the value of these exports saw a substantial gain of 29.8%, amounting to 5.69 billion baht.
For the first seven months, motorcycle exports decreased by 15.3% year-on-year to 491,872 units. Nevertheless, the export value for this period saw an increase of 8.29% year-on-year, amounting to 41.6 billion baht.
Exports of motorcycles and motorcycle parts in July witnessed a significant surge, increasing by 26.1% year-on-year to 6.18 billion baht. For the first seven months, these exports rose by 8.43% to 44.6 billion baht.
