Impact of car seizures on Thai manufacturing production index

The Office of Industrial Economics (OIE) has reported a 2.94% year-on-year dip in the Manufacturing Production Index (MPI), falling to 99.2 points in January. This downturn is largely attributed to a range of economic challenges, most notably the highest level of car seizures in half a decade.

The domestic automotive industry’s stagnation was a significant contributor to January’s MPI decline, as OIE director-general Warawan Chitaroon explained.

“Car manufacturing decreased by 9.63% year-on-year as the number of seized cars rose to 250,000 last year, or around 20,000 units a month.”

This trend has led to banks exercising greater caution in granting car loans, adversely affecting domestic car sales.

Further impacting car sales was a decline in consumer buying power. January also saw a drop in car exports due to a scarcity of roll-on/roll-off ships,…