ASEAN (2): Production and sales recovering to pre-pandemic levels

Thai sales low due to chip shortages; Indonesian, Malaysian sales up with tax breaks

2023/08/17

Summary

五菱の小型EV 宏光 MINI EV
Wuling Hongguang MINI EV compact EV (Production began in Vietnam in May 2023) (Source: SAIC-GM-Wuling)

  Vehicle production in four major ASEAN countries increased by 23.7% year-over-year (y/y) to 4.15 million units in 2022, and grew further by 7.6% y/y to 2.03 million units for the period of January-June 2023. Finally, it has recovered to the pre-COVID level. While production has been growing due to improvement of semiconductor and other component supply conditions, supply disruptions still remain in some countries. Regarding the moves related to production, a joint venture between the Thai CP Group and Chinese Foton Motor is planning to build a truck assembly plant in Thailand by 2026. In Indonesia, Hyundai Motor started operations at its new plant in March 2022, and Daihatsu broke ground for a new facility in February 2023. In Vietnam, KG Mobility (former Ssangyong Motor), Skoda and Hyundai Motor are building new assembly plants with their Vietnamese partners.

  Exports from leading ASEAN exporting countries, Thailand and Indonesia, increased in 2022. Thailand exported 1 million units, up by 4.3% y/y, and exports from Indonesia grew by 60.7% y/y to 470,000 units. Exports from the two countries continued to show a strong growth for the period of January-June 2023. Thailand exported 530,000 units, up by 17.6% y/y, while exports from Indonesia increased by 25.1% y/y to 250,000 units.

  In 2022, six major ASEAN countries sold 3.42 million new vehicles, up by 25.4% y/y. Sales for the period of January-June 2023 increased by 1.9% y/y to 1.69 million units. While sales in overall ASEAN countries surpassed the pre-COVID level, some countries are still suffering from the closure of tax breaks, rising interest rates, and semiconductor supply shortages. Sales in Thailand has not yet returned to the pre-COVID level due to a delay in delivery of some models due to semiconductor shortages. Indonesia and Malaysia enjoyed growing sales supported by their tax breaks. The Philippines experienced a sales increase along with economic growth, but is concerned about accelerating inflation and rising interest rates. In Vietnam, sales remain low as consumers’ motivation has been declining due to the end of registration fee reduction and rising interest rates.

  The share of electrified vehicles that makes up total vehicle sales is rapidly expanding. In Thailand, electrified vehicles (including electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) and hybrid vehicles (HVs)) accounted for 17.9% for the period of January-June 2023, up from 9.65% in 2022. The share of EVs increased from 1.20% in 2022 to 6.95% for the first half of 2023. In Thailand and Indonesia, the EV market is expected to expand further as domestic production of EVs has been increasing.


  This report is the second part of two reports on ASEAN. ASEAN (1), already posted, provides ASEAN countries’ electrification policies, launch and production plans for EVs, and production plans for EV batteries. Part 2 reports ASEAN market’s production, exports and sales results as well as GlobalData’s sales forecasts.

 

Related reports:
ASEAN (1): Accelerating shift to EVs, and market entry of Chinese OEMs (Aug. 2023)
Chinese OEM Overseas Expansion Activities: SAIC, Chery, Dongfeng, Changan (Jun. 2023)
ASEAN Vehicle Sales and Production Update (Q1 2023) (May. 2023)
Bangkok International Motor Show 2023 (2): Colorful Experience (Apr. 2023)
Bangkok International Motor Show 2023 (1): Colorful Experience (Apr. 2023)
Chinese OEM Overseas Expansion Activities: BYD, Geely, Great Wall, NIO, Xpeng (Apr. 2023)
Arun Plus: The First of Thailand, EV Automotive Industry (Mar. 2023)
Indonesia: Utilizing Nickel to Build EV Supply Chain (Jan. 2023)
Thailand: EV subsidies and tax incentives, Chinese OEMs launching budget EVs (Dec. 2022)
ASEAN: Promoting use and production of EVs to achieve carbon neutrality (Jul. 2022)

 

This report is for paid members only. Remaining 4 chapters remaining.
Free membership registration allows you to read the rest of the article for a limited time.

Click here for a free trial.