Motorcycle sales in Thailand are projected to rise in the last quarter of 2024, bolstered by increased export orders from countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Japan.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) reported a significant spike in exports in October, with a 157% year-on-year increase to 175,066 units.

This boost is attributed to higher demand for completely knocked-down (CKD) units, which are reassembled overseas by countries seeking new motorcycle models.

Export value also grew by 16.6% year-on-year to 6.5 billion baht.

Despite this surge, motorcycle exports from January to October fell by 15.8% year-on-year to 776,362 units, though October's data indicate a positive trend for the year-end.

Domestically, motorcycle sales rose by 3.8% in October, but total local sales from January to October decreased by 10% to 1.42 million units, affected by stringent lending criteria due to high household debt.

The local market is expected to benefit from an uptick in tourism, with a projected 36.7 million foreign tourists in 2024 boosting demand for motorcycles.

The FTI maintains Thailand's total motorcycle production target at 2.12 million units for 2024.

In the first 10 months of 2024, motorcycle production slightly decreased by 1.4% year-on-year to 2.03 million units, with CKD production rising significantly by 57.3% to 444,849 units.