Motor Expo 2026

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) reveals vehicle production of 124,646 units, an increase of 10.93 percent; sales of 59,809 units, an increase of 25.59 percent; and exports of 69,724 units, a decrease of 2.04 percent.

Suwat Suphakanjanadechakun Vice Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries and Chairman of the Automotive Industry Club Suraphong Paisitpattanapong Advisor to the Chairman of the Automotive Industry Club and Spokesperson for the Automotive Industry Club and On Raktipakorn Deputy Spokesperson for the Automotive Industry Club The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) jointly held a press conference on the overall situation of the automotive industry, production volume, domestic sales, and the country's vehicle and motorcycle exports in August 2026.

Suwat Vice Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries and Chairman of the Automotive Industry Club stated that as Chairman of the Automotive Industry Club, the Federation of Thai Industries would like to thank the government for the Board EV resolution on September 10, which aligns with some of the 3 pillars proposed regarding the protection, stimulation, and promotion of the Thai automotive industry by the Automotive Industry Club and the Thai Automotive Industry Association, which have been discussed and presented to the government throughout.

The restructuring of excise tax by setting tax rates for electric vehicles imported from abroad, which do not have domestic production facilities, higher than electric vehicles produced domestically, is the right approach to protect investors and those who have been producing in the country for a long time. The tax rates that are tiered according to the level of investment, production, and value creation in Thailand, I believe will be able to incentivize manufacturers to invest and expand their production bases, as well as increase the use of key parts produced or Local Content domestically as well.

Currently, we are still waiting for the official tax rate announcement, but our work does not end here. We are currently studying the issue of Local Content or Thai Content to generate maximum benefits for domestic parts manufacturers, which is one of the main Ecosystems of the Thai automotive industry. In addition, there is the issue of setting import volumes, or "as, by considering the link to the economic value that manufacturers create in Thailand as well.

For the overall domestic automotive industry in the past 8 months, production and domestic sales have returned to growth, while exports have declined, with domestic sales of approximately 466,000 units, but the pickup truck market, which is the Product Champion of the country, has continued to shrink for several years.

It has decreased by approximately 63 percent since 2022, while pickup truck exports have also been negative, reflecting that the pressure does not only come from domestic purchasing power, but has also started to transmit from export markets. The Middle East war crisis, which has caused pickup truck sales to fall, has had a wide-ranging impact, not only on vehicle manufacturers but also on the deep Supply Chain, because pickup trucks are vehicles with a very high proportion of Local Content, with some brands being as high as more than 90 percent.

I and the Automotive Industry Club hope to see measures to “stimulatethe market from the government in the near future to maintain production levels and cost competitiveness, including the Ecosystem of the Product Champion.

Suraphong Paisitpattanapong Advisor to the Chairman of the Automotive Industry Club and Spokesperson for the Automotive Industry Club reported the automotive industry statistics for August 2026.

Production

The total number of vehicles produced in August 2026 was 124,646 units, an increase from August 2025 by 10.93 percent, driven by the production of 13,126 electric passenger cars, an increase of 77.38 percent, and the production of 65,103 pickup trucks for export, an increase of 18.11 percent, while internal combustion engine passenger cars could only be produced at 17,355 units, a decrease of 20.51 percent.

The number of vehicles produced from January-