Thailand seeks to revive automotive industry

Thailand is offering a guarantee for loans for pickup trucks, a key segment of the country’s car manufacturing industry, as it seeks to boost a flagging autos sector that saw production slump to a four-year low in 2024.

As reported by the Bangkok Post, Thailand is Southeast Asia's biggest auto production center and an export base for top automakers like Toyota and Honda, but its auto shipments declined 8.8% last year, when domestic sales plunged 26%.

A major factor in the decline has been the lack of access to local loans for pickup trucks, which typically account for a third of the country's domestic auto sales.

In an announcement on Friday ahead of next week's Bangkok International Motor Show, the Thai Government said it will offer a support package of THB5 billion ($147.80 million) over a seven-year period.

"The program will reduce risk and creative incentives for financial institutions to provide loans," Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul said as quoted by Bangkok Post, adding that it would boost pickup truck sales by 6,250 units.

The nation’s auto output fell for an 18th consecutive month in January, plunging more than 24% on a yearly basis to 107,103 vehicles.