Japanese Share in ASEAN’s Automobile Market Dropped Below 80% in YTD August 2024

The presence of Japanese automakers in the ASEAN market has been on the decline since 2022. The sales of Japanese OEMs in ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) from January to August 2024 decreased by 5.7% from the same period last year to 1.697,987 units, exceeding the overall market decline of 3.6%. As a result, Japanese market share fell by 1.8 points to 79.2%, dropping below 80%. On the other hand, the market share of Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, MG, and Chery, which had introduced BEVs in Thailand and Indonesia, increased by 2.1 points, meaning that Japanese companies have lost their market share to Chinese manufacturers. Looking market share by brand, while Toyota (incl. Lexus), Daihatsu (incl. Perodua) and Mitsubishi went up, Honda, Isuzu and Suzuki saw a drop in share. In particular, Isuzu, which generates more than 60% of its ASEAN sales in Thailand, has seen a noticeable decrease in its market share due to the shrinking sales of pickup trucks triggered by stricter loan evaluations in Thailand. In addition, Honda is reducing local production capacity by consolidating production bases in Thailand. Suzuki has also announced the ending of its production activities in Thailand, which will inevitably affect future sales.