The Automotive Industry Club reported a decline in Thailand car production for January, citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the global shortage of semiconductors.
Last month’s car production reached around 151,700 vehicles nationwide, a 2.45% increase year-on-year, but a 1.7% decline since December, according to AIC spokesperson Surapong Pisitpattanapong.
About 74,700 of the vehicles were produced for the domestic market, which accounted for 49.23% of production. The remaining 50.77% of the January production, some 77,000 vehicles, went for exports, the NNT reported.
The rise in demand for electronic devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, triggered the global semiconductor chip shortage, according to the AIC. They predict chip shortage will last until 2024.
The silver lining is that, although production is down, the export value of car engines and parts in January increased 6% from the same period last year to 65.9 billion baht, AIC said.
SOURCE: NNT