Thai auto exports threatened by Israel-Hamas conflict
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is closely monitoring the Israel-Hamas conflict for fear that if the war expands to include other neighbouring Arab nations, Thai vehicle exports could be affected late this year.
Vehicles are the leading Thai exports to Israel in terms of value, at US$243 million per year. In the first eight months of this year (Jan-Aug), Thailand exported $124 million worth of vehicles and auto parts to Israel, representing 1% of total Thai auto exports.
The Middle East is Thailand’s third-largest vehicle market, accounting for 16% of total exports, behind Australia (28%) and Asia (31%) in 2022.
High demand in the Mideast helped to drive a 19.5% y-on-y increase in Thai vehicle exports over the first eight months this year. Saudi Arabia is the region’s leading market for Thai auto exports.
Hence, Thai automakers are concerned over a potential expansion of the Israel-Hamas conflict to include other Arab nations.
The FTI has cut its forecast for total Thai vehicle production this year from 1.95 million units to 1.9 million following sluggish sales in August.
The projection covers 850,000 units for domestic sales and 1.05 million for export.
Domestic sales of vehicles in the first eight months of this year amounted to 524,784 units, down 6.21% from the same period of last year.
