Suzuki Motor Thailand has cut its 2014 sales target in the country to 40,000 cars from an earlier forecast of 50,000, citing a gloomy domestic outlook.
Wallop Treererkngam, general manager of Suzuki Motor Thailand (left), and president Takayuki Sugiyama with the new Celerio.
“Based on car sales in the first four months, which fell 43.1%, a sales cut was inevitable,” said president Takayuki Sugiyama.
Last year, Suzuki sold 45,200 cars.
The company is forecasting a drop in domestic car sales to 950,000 units this year, down from 1.33 million in 2013.
The automotive industry club under the Federation of Thai Industries recently reported that Thailand’s automotive production and sales took another dive in April.
Production decreased 25.6% last month to 126,730 units, with sales plunging
33.2% to reach 73,242 units.
For the four-month period, production was down 27.8% at 644,222 units, while sales fell 43.1% to 297,413 units versus the same period of 2013.
Automotive shipments, however, rose for a third straight month in April.
Thailand shipped 69,804 units, up 2.3% from the same month last year, with the figure in the first four months rising 1.5% to 361,313 units.
In its best bid to weather the country’s sagging demand, Suzuki plans to rev up exports and launch new models.
The company is to raise its export totals for the Swift and the Celerio — Suzuki’s second eco-car model, launched yesterday — to 20,000 units this year from 16,000 in 2013.
The five-door compact Celerio is powered by a 1.0-litre engine, smaller than the Swift’s 1.2-litre.
Celerios are made by Suzuki’s eco-car plant at Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong province.
Suzuki Thailand plans to produce some 100,000 cars this year: 40,000 Celerios in addition to 60,000 Swifts.
Two other Suzuki models, the Carry and the Ertiga, are currently available in the Thai market.
Suzuki was one of five Japanese car makers that applied for incentives under the first phase of the eco-car scheme launched in 2007.
It spent 8 billion baht in 2011 to invest in the first phase of the Rayong plant for the Swift, with an annual production of 50,000 cars.
The Swift was introduced locally on March 22, 2012 to coincide with the tax rebate scheme for first-time car buyers.
Suzuki Thailand’s 2012 sales reached 24,680 cars, with the Swift accounting for 17,000.
In early 2013, Suzuki spent 1.3 billion baht to raise production capacity at its existing plant to 100,000 vehicles. By the end of last year, Suzuki had produced a cumulative 70,000 Swifts, 54,000 of which were sold in Thailand.
Swifts are shipped to Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia, while the new Celerio is bound for Asia and Europe.