BANGKOK, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's auto production dropped for a second straight month in August due to falling output of passenger cars and pickup trucks for exports, data from the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) showed on Tuesday.
Thai auto manufacturers produced 112,366 vehicles last month, down 6.11 percent from a year earlier, slowing from an 11.39 percent decrease in July, according to the FTI.
The decline was mainly attributed to stricter requirements for installing safety equipment and tighter carbon emission regulations imposed by trading partners, said FTI Automotive Industry Club spokesperson Surapong Paisitpattanapong.
However, production for the domestic market rose 4.11 percent year-on-year, thanks to the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs) to offset previous imports under the government's tax reduction and subsidy, Surapong told a news conference.
For the first eight months of 2025, auto production fell 5.77 percent over the previous year to 947,697 units, weighed down by the discontinuation of certain fuel-powered passenger car models, Surapong said.
Domestic auto sales climbed for a fifth successive month in August, up 5.38 percent year-on-year to 47,622 units, driven by a surge in EV demand, although challenging lending conditions and a sluggish economy continued to hinder pickup truck sales, he said.
The Southeast Asian country's finished car exports shrank 17.30 percent from a year earlier to 71,179 units in August, owing to reduced shipments of fuel-powered vehicles, he noted. ■
