Customers coming to Siam Motor Sales' Bangkok showroom for a Nissan Motor Co. March compact car leave with a place on a five-month waiting list instead.
"Five to 10 people come in every day asking about it," Wiwat Manuthad, a Siam Motor salesman, said. About 8,000 buyers have ordered the vehicle, which starts at 375,000 baht ($11,600) he said.
Thailand's auto production is projected to rise 60 percent this year as Nissan, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. boost output to meet rising domestic and overseas demand. The car industry's share of the nation's economy has grown to more than 10 percent, helping offset a slump in tourism after the country's worst riots in almost two decades earlier this year.
"The government has been consistent in its support for the auto industry and made it a priority, which is why you have seen the industry grow," Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford's Asian and African operations, said in an interview. Ford, which has cut its U.S. workforce 47 percent since 2006, plans to make its Focus model at a new $450 million factory in Thailand by 2012.
Thailand's finance ministry raised its 2010 growth forecast for the second time in three months on June 29 as a recovering global economy lifted overseas shipments, cushioning the economic impact from the political unrest. Gross domestic product may expand 5 percent to 6 percent in 2010, the ministry said.
Output Doubles
Thailand's auto output doubled to 620,116 vehicles in the first five months of 2010, the Thai Automotive Club trade group said May 17. Carmakers restarted idled production lines as global demand recovered from a recession, while Thailand's economic growth and low borrowing costs boosted demand at home.
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