Thailand's car production in April drops to a five-year low.

The Federation of Thai Industries said on Monday that due to the impact of the Middle East conflict on exports and the rising energy prices, the country's automobile production in April hit a five-year low. The car production in April decreased by 0.44% year-on-year, totaling 103,794 units, while production in March had increased by 2.69% year-on-year. Sorapong Paisitpapan, chairman of the Automobile Club of the Federation of Thai Industries, said at a press conference that domestic car sales grew slightly by 2.54% to 48,394 units, driven by orders from the Bangkok Motor Show. However, car exports in the same month fell by 8.43%, reaching only 60,190 units. Thailand is the largest automobile manufacturing base in Southeast Asia and the export manufacturing center for many top international car companies. Companies such as Toyota, Honda, as well as Chinese car companies like BYD and Great Wall Motors have set up factories here in recent years to serve both the local consumption and overseas export markets. The Federation of Thai Industries maintains its expectations that car production will increase by 3% in 2026, reaching 1.5 million units, after a slight decrease of 0.9% to 1.455 million units in the previous year.