webfact Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Automobile production in April lowest in 30 years, says FTI By The Nation Automobile production plunged in to the lowest level in 30 years in April due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, Surapong Paisitpattanapong, vice president and spokesman of the automobile chapter of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said on Wednesday (May 20). FTI said that only 24,711 automobiles were produced in April, down 83.55 per cent year on year. The number of vehicles produced for export had dropped 81.76 per cent, while the number produced for domestic consumption was down 85.35 per cent. “The production in April dropped to the lowest since 1990, when Thailand only used to manufacture 304,000 automobiles a year,” he said. Meanwhile, he said, the domestic sale of cars so far this year was 30,109, down 65.02 per cent year on year due to the drop in people’s purchasing power, while the export of automobiles was 20,326, down 69.71 year on year owing to the economic slowdown. “The value of automobile exports dropped by 65.15 per cent to Bt12.389 billion,” he said, adding that the FTI has cut its production target for the automotive industry from 2 million to just 1 million. “We are not really sure if the new target will be achieved because nobody has been visiting car showrooms even though the Covid-19 situation has improved,” he said. “We also have to monitor the state of affairs to see if there will be a second wave of infections. If this condition lasts longer than expected, we will have to evaluate things again.” Meanwhile, FTI president Suphant Mongkolsuthree said the industrial confidence index in April stood at 75.9, less than the previous month’s 88. “The index dropped to the lowest since April 2009 due to uncertainty following the Covid-19 outbreak, the government’s lockdown measures and drought,” he said. “Some businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, have had to slow down their production and investment, as well as lay off employees due to liquidity shortages.” According to the survey, 69.5 per cent of businesses are concerned about the state of the global economy, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a drop in purchase orders from overseas. “Hence, we expect the industrial confidence index in the next three months to drop to 88.8, the lowest since May 2009,” he said. He added that the government will consider the option of solving loan issues to help businesses, while the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee on Wednesday (May 20) cut the key interest rate to 0.5 per cent from 0.75 per cent in a move to help the economy recover. Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30388208 -- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-05-21 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justgrazing Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 Without wishing to sound like I'm picking holes but that pic' is a bit naff .. Those lobots know nothing of health and safety doing welding on one side while spraying paint on the other .. at the same time .. An just the other day they were bigging up Thai robots .. After seeing that I'll reserve judgment .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo369 Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 I got as far as reading automobile.... Then I Feel asleep.... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fex Bluse Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 I hope the Thais remember to thank their northern neighbours at every opportunity. They seem to admire them so much 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaan sailor Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Since they’ve decimated the USD, I’m not too surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjo o tjim Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 4 hours ago, Justgrazing said: Without wishing to sound like I'm picking holes but that pic' is a bit naff .. Those lobots know nothing of health and safety doing welding on one side while spraying paint on the other .. at the same time .. An just the other day they were bigging up Thai robots .. After seeing that I'll reserve judgment .. i was wondering how they weld the body together and paint, all with the wheels on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cake Monster Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 This headline is just the pre-curser for another that will say " Thousands of Jobs lost in the Automobile Industry" And there will be Thousands more in the Supply Chains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickudon Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Worse still to come. In the UK, just 4,000 new cars were registered in April, a fall of 97%. I doubt that most UK car factories will be in a hurry to restart, as many still in stock. In Thailand, domestic sales may recover, but exports probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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