MG Sales Thailand, the distributor of MG cars, aims to double its sales for the second year in a row in 2017, led by the MG3 model.
The company yesterday said sales of MG vehicles last year reached 8,319 units, up 120%.
The surge was largely due to the company's introduction of the MG GS 1.5-litre turbo engine and the colourful MG3 subcompact.
The MG3 continued its success throughout the year, contributing 70% of overall sales.
"2016 was another highly productive year for MG in Thailand," said Pongsak Lertrudeewattanavong, vice-president of MG Sales Thailand. "MG sales in 2016 were strong in contrast to the sluggish growth of the automotive market in Thailand. Our strong sales clearly reflect higher customer confidence in MG products and our services."
In 2016, Thailand's domestic car sales dropped 3.9% from a year earlier to 768,788 vehicles.
Founded in 2013, MG Sales Thailand is the sales, marketing, and after-sales service arm for the MG brand in Thailand.
It also overseas dealer networks of a joint venture between Charoen Pokphand Group and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, SAIC Motor-CP, founded in 2012. The Chinese company owns 51% of the venture.
The carmaker's first 9-billion-baht factory, with total production capacity of 50,000 units, was built in the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong and began operations in June 2014.
Despite gloomy economic conditions, Chinese-Thai joint venture SAIC Motor-CP Co last year began construction of its second assembly plant at Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 2 in Chon Buri province.
SAIC Motor-CP bought 438 rai of land for an undisclosed sum from SET-listed Hemaraj Land and Development Plc in November 2015. It announced in May last year plans to build a second 700,000-square-metre facility to handle assembly processes under one roof.
The investment cost for the second facility is estimated at 30-40 billion baht.