Motorcycle sales, especially completely knocked-down (CKD) units, in the final quarter this year are expected to increase, thanks to more purchase orders overseas, which caused exports to skyrocket in October, says the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
Many countries, especially in Asia, bought more CKD units for reassembly as sellers want new motorcycle models, said Surapong Paisitpatanapong, vice-chairman of the FTI and spokesman for its Automotive Industry Club.
This offers an opportunity for Thailand to increase motorcycle sales as the country is a major producer, he said.
"Purchase orders from Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and Japan are rising as they want new motorcycle models to serve customers," said Mr Surapong.
Exports of motorcycles, including CKD and completely built-up (CBU) units, skyrocketed by 157% year-on-year to 175,066 units in October, up from 68,136.
The export value rose by 16.6% year-on-year to 6.5 billion baht, up from 6 billion.
According to the club, this is a good sign for motorcycle sales the remainder of the year. For the first 10 months this year, motorcycle exports including CKD and CBU units decreased by 15.8% year-on-year to 776,362 units.
The club did not offer a reason for the decline, though the trend is similar to the export dip during the first seven months of 2024.
Export volume from January to July decreased by 10.1% year-on-year to 473,075 units as neighbouring countries produced motorcycles that replaced imports from Thailand, the club said earlier.
Domestic sales of motorcycles also increased in October by 3.8% year-on-year to 140,113 units, though total sales in the local market from January to October declined by 10% year-on-year to 1.42 million units.
During the 10-month period, sales of internal combustion engine-powered motorcycles decreased by 10% year-on-year, while electric motorcycle sales fell by 9%.
The club said earlier the drop in domestic sales was attributed partly to banks' and financing companies' strict lending criteria, fearful of non-performing loans amid a high level of household debt.
A more active tourism sector in the second half of this year is expected to lift the domestic motorcycle market.
"We expect the number of foreign tourist arrivals to continue to increase, reaching the target of 36.7 million in 2024. This should boost motorcycle demand," said Mr Surapong.
Tourism activities help to lift motorcycle production, as many foreign tourists enjoy riding a motorcycle when visiting the country, noted the club.
The club maintained Thailand's total motorcycle production target at 2.12 million units for 2024.
For the first 10 months this year, motorcycle manufacturing dipped by 1.4% year-on-year to 2.03 million units, with CBU production decreasing by 10.8% to 1.58 million units and CKD production soaring by 57.3% to 444,849 units.