BANGKOK, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's auto production continued to drop in October due to a substantial decline in output for the domestic market, data from the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) showed on Monday.

Thai auto manufacturers produced 118,842 vehicles last month, down 25.13 percent from a year earlier and following a 25.48 percent fall in September as pickup truck and truck production slumped, according to the FTI.

For the first 10 months of 2024, auto production tumbled 19.28 percent over the previous year to 1,246,868 units, partly owing to a 27.41 percent plunge in internal combustion engine passenger cars, said FTI Automotive Industry Club spokesperson Surapong Paisitpattanapong.

Domestic auto sales shrank 36.08 percent year-on-year to 37,691 units in October, reaching the lowest record in 54 months as banks tightened lending standards to address high household debt, Surapong told a news conference.

The number of auto loan accounts in the third quarter of 2024 decreased 3 percent over a year earlier, while the total auto loan amount in the July-September period dropped 5.8 percent year on year, hampered by weak economic growth, he added.

The Southeast Asian country's finished car exports fell 20.23 percent from a year earlier to 84,334 units in October as shipments to all markets contracted, weighed down by last year's high comparative base and mounting geopolitical tension in the Middle East, Surapong said.

He noted that the federation downgraded its 2024 auto production target further to 1.5 million units after slashing it to 1.7 million units in July on the back of a lower projection for both domestic sales and exports.

Thailand's auto production stood at 1.84 million units in 2023. Enditem

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