BANGKOK: Thailand's automobile sales rose to a two-year high in 2025 as exponential growth in electric vehicle purchases drove demand despite the backdrop of lackluster economic growth.
Vehicle sales in the Southeast Asian nation reached 621,166 units last year, up 8.5% from 2024, Surapong Paisitpattanapong, spokesperson of the automobile industry group at the Federation of Thai Industries, said in a briefing Wednesday.
Electric vehicles accounted for 45% of the total, with sales of 276,697 units.
Chinese electric vehicle makers have brought aggressive discounting to Thailand, with BYD slashing as much as 38% from the sticker price for its Seal electric sedan and fueling a more than 20% surge in sales late last year.
Sales of battery EVs, in particular, rose 80% to 120,301 units.
The Thai industry group expects domestic sales to increase this year on the back of post-election stimulus measures, Surapong said.
Vehicle production is expected to rise to 1.5 million units in 2026, with 950,000 units to be manufactured for export and 550,000 units for domestic sales.
In 2025, output totaled 1.46 million units, down 1% year-on-year, as production of internal combustion engine vehicles dropped 29%, according to FTI data.
Meanwhile, EV production for export may not be as high as in 2025, Surapong said, citing increasing competition with Chinese EVs produced elsewhere, as well as the impact of United States tariffs on factory output.
