Vehicle production in August 2026 came in at 124,646 units, up 10.93% from the same period a year earlier. Of that total, 83,612 units were built for export, up 12.24%, and 41,034 units were built for domestic sale, up 8.34%, according to Surapong Paisitpatanapong, adviser to the chairman of the Automotive Industry Group and spokesman for the Automotive Industry Group of the Federation of Thai Industries. Domestic vehicle sales stood at 59,809 units, up 25.59%, driven by a rise in sales of electric passenger cars to 19,721 units, up 113.29%, accounting for 32.97% of the total, or nearly one-third of all sales. Surapong confirmed that the full-year 2026 vehicle production target remains at 1.45 million units, split into 900,000 units for export and 550,000 units for domestic sale, provided the flood situation eases within two to three days. Analysts at Krungsri Securities estimate that August production rose 11% from a year earlier and 6% from the previous month, supported by an 18% increase in pickup production for export to 65,103 units. Production of combustion-engine passenger cars fell 21% to 17,355 units, while BEV production reached 13,126 units, up 77% and equal to 11% of total vehicle output. Cumulative vehicle production in the first eight months of 2026 was approximately 960,000 units, up 1% and equal to 66% of the full-year target. That comprised roughly 610,000 units for export, down 3%, and about 350,000 units for domestic sale, up 9%. Domestic vehicle sales in the first eight months totaled 466,000 units, up 17% and equal to 74% of the full-year target of 630,000 units. BEV sales came to about 145,000 units, up 101%, of which 42% were locally produced and 58%, or roughly 84,554 units, were imported. The research team maintains a bearish view on auto parts makers such as Somboon Advance Technology, or SAT, and Thai Stanley Electric, or STANLY, even though domestic vehicle sales are recovering, because growth is still coming from the BEV market, where more than half the vehicles are imported. Meanwhile, the Board of Investment has approved in principle a tiered excise tax restructuring for electric vehicles, linking tax rates to levels of investment, production and local content use, which may help ease pressure from imported EVs.
