The 42nd Thailand International Motor Expo has come to an end and organizers have announced that more than Bt70 billion has been generated by the 13-day automotive extravaganza, which is great news for the sluggish Thai economy.
According to show organizer Kwanchai Paphatphong, as much as 75,246 orders were placed for automobiles at this year’s show, with 50 per cent being for electric vehicles, while more than 5,000 orders poured in for motorcycles.
“The 2025 Motor Expo is held during the peak car-buying season and with the initial EV3.0 promotion ending this year plus the new excise tax structure that will take effect in 2026, the event has been highly successful this year,” he said.
Brands participating in the EV3.0 scheme needs to clear stocks as much as possible and are offering dramatic price discounts and other promotions, while the new excise tax will cause ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles to be more expensive. Electric car prices will also be increasing, with the EV3.5 program offering lower subsidies.
“This year’s Motor Expo has helped stimulate the slowing auto market back to action with an estimated Bt70 billion being circulated,” Kwanchai said, adding that more than 1.5 million visitors came to the event this year.
While this may sound extremely good for the automobile industry, some say these figures should be taken with a grain of salt.
First of all, fact is that the number or orders (or worse pre-orders) do not translate into equal number of sales, since strict auto financing measures means that a significant number of applications will be declined. The more accurate way of studying the market is from actual car registrations, which ensures that the vehicles have been really been purchased.
Secondly, the figures provided by auto companies taking part in the Motor Expo can easily be exaggerated, and often are, in an effort to create a strong brand image. A common practice for exhibitors is to add nationwide sales to their daily auto show sales report, stating that the same promotion is offered.
However, these potential customers may be located anywhere in the country and never came to place their order directly at the show venue. While Japanese brands have been accused of the practice in the past, Chinese automakers have taken the game to a new level in the present day.
The show organizer understands the problem, and notes that it compares the numbers from auto companies with the lucky draw cards submitted by authentic car buyers after officially placing orders at the event.
“From our calculations, the number of entries from the car buyers lucky draw represents a certain percentage point of total orders reported by the brand,” a Motor Expo official said. “If we see a significant difference from the norm, we will make necessary adjustments to the numbers posted in our website.”
For example, while BYD announced yesterday that it has received 10,533 orders for BYD and Denza brands at the Motor Expo from November 28 to December 10, the official Motor Expo website lowered the number to just 6,212 orders for BYD and 469 orders for Denza. Omoda & Jaecoo’s numbers were lowered as well, from the claimed 7,266 orders down to 5,217 orders.
“We try our best reflect the true economic situation from car sales figures at the Motor Expo,” he added.
According to the sales (order) chart in the Motor Expo website, Toyota was the top brand this year with 10,872 orders followed by Honda with 6,278 orders and BYD with 6,212 orders.
Chinese automakers have grown into a dominant force at the Motor Expo, securing most of the top 10 spots. In fourth plce was Omoda & Jaecoo (5,217 orders), followed by GAC (5,019), Geely (4,831), MG (4,827), GWM (4,609) and Deepal (4,586).
There is no question that the annual Thailand International Motor Expo (and other major auto shows in Thailand) strongly contribute to auto sales in Thailand thanks to the launch of new models as well as attractive sales campaigns, leading to market and economic growth.
However when considering the sales figures from each auto brand, there are many factors one needs to take into account in order to get the most accurate picture of the true economic situation.
2025 Motor Expo Automobile Sales Chart:
