Thailand Used Car Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Thailand Used Car Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Thailand Used Car Market was valued at USD 5.1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 8.3 billion in 2027 registering a CAGR of above 7% during the forecast period ( 2022 - 2027).

Though the impact of the pandemic is inevitable on the market due to lockdowns and travel restrictions in 2020, the impact is considered to be minimal. With the increased number of people preferring individual mobility and more finance options available in the used car market, the market started growing considerably since the first half of 2021. For instance,

Key Highlights

• In 2021, CarTrust company switched its business model from mainly financing to providing credit and refinancing for buyers of second-hand cars. Its major business involves lending to car hire-purchase customers looking to repay their remaining debts so that they get the vehicle registration to be used in their application for refinancing.

Thailand is expected to emerge as one of the high potential used-car markets during the forecast period in wake of a widening customer base and notable improvements in the buying patterns of used cars out of concerns over health in wake of recent incidences like the pandemic. Growing new entrants and strong presence of B2C and OEM Dealerships, especially the OEMS like Toyota and Honda, to further enhance growth of market during the forecast period.

In addition, rising internet penetration and online platforms for used cars to facilitate easy buying and transfer of used cars to the customers is also expected to drive demand in the market. However, 7% VAT added to the bill if the customer buys from a showroom or used car dealer, or use a loan to finance the purchase, likely to act as potential challenge.

Bangkok,Phuket, Chiang Mai, and others likely to stand as attractive destination for used car dealers as these provinces accomodate higher purchasing power individuals as compared to other regions. The Northeastern region has the second highest used car sales volume due to strong economic growth from increasing cross-border trade supported by the presence of special economic zones.

Key Market TrendsRising Internet penetration and Online Digital Platforms to drive demand in the Market

Consumers are shifting away from traditional methods and increasingly using online platforms for their used car buying/selling journey. Many start-ups and auto portals present in Southeast Asia are entering the Thailand market or expanding their presence through Collaborations, mergers, and acquisitions to capture the growing industry potential. For instance,

• In 2021, CARS24, an Indian Autotech unicorn, announced that it is expanding its foothold in Thailand as part of its international expansion plan in Southeast Asia. The company plans to capture the used car market in Thailand which is likely to be driven by an increased preference for personal safety and the better economic viability of purchasing used cars in coming years.
• In 2022, One2Car.com, one of the three websites of iCar Asia Thailand, announced to expand its offerings into a one-stop channel that covers the complete automotive market. That includes buying, owning, and selling used and new cars.

Increasing internet and smartphone penetration in the country has resulted in large number of consumers preferring to buy and sell cars through online auto classifieds and social media. For instance, there were 54.5 million internet users in Thailand in January 2022, accounting 77.8% of the total population. In 2021, 36.8 million people in Thailand engaged in digital payments with total payment transactions of USD 19.3 billion, registering 35.5% year-on-year growth. Further, around 36.6 million people purchased consumer goods (includes Used cars ) via the internet in 2021, up by 8.7% year-on-year growth. About 56.8 million people engaged in social media, accounting for 81.2% of the population, while there were 95.6 million cellular mobile connections in Thailand, or 137% of the population, in January this year.

Auction Houses are also increasing their spending on online advertising and generating leads through these platforms. According to reports published in accordance with google trends 2021 indicate that the market has gained more attention. Searching for major second-hand car brands on the Internet increased in the past two years.

Aforementioned developments are anticipated to indicate positive outlook for Thailand used car market, especially the growth of online segment, during the forecast period.

Organized Segment of Market to Witness Notable Growth During Forecast Period

The Organized segment of Thailand's used car market is anticipated to witness decent growth during the forecast period. This growth is expected to be driven by increased sales of used cars and a rise in online sales platforms, such as iCar Asia, Cars24, Carsome, etc.

Thailand is one of the emerging markets for used cars across the southeast ASEAN region, however, organized independent dealers (Car Tents) are likely to dominate the market due to their large presence across the country. These dealers are also increasing their presence by listing their inventory on their own websites or platforms resulting in market growth. Considering this, several players in the market are focusing at enlarging their market share. For instance,

• Nissan has renamed its used cars business UCARS to Nissan Intelligent Choice Certified Used Car. Under the improved used car business, vehicles now go through a 167-point check, with the additional checks being for hybrid electric vehicle systems and batteries. In addition, the vehicle age limit has been increased from 5 years to 6 years, or 130,000 kilometers. In addition, the facilities for Nissan’s used car business will be renovated in line with the Nissan Retail Concept initiative.

The players in the organized sector give strong preference to less-aged cars and popular brands with good resale value Consequently, offering buyers a flexible range of vehicle options to choose from. For example, OEMs in Thailand, such as Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Toyota, and luxury car manufacturers, such as Mercedes Benz, and others, have their strong proprietary used car networks giving notable competition to local unorganized players who are variedly present in the country.

Furthermore, consumers prefer safety, transparency, convenience, and negligible risk, when purchasing used cars, which in turn, provides the organized sector an upper edge, when compared to the unorganized sector. The above mentioned instances and developments indicate that the Organized segment of the market to have decent growth during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The Thailand Used Car Market is the moderately fragmented one owing to its competitive nature, and the presence of a large number of players operating it across the country. These players are estimated to focus on expansion, fleet upgradation, collaborations, etc. to strengthen their position in the market. For instance,

• In June 2021, Carro (Thailand) Co, one of Southeast Asia's biggest online used car marketplace operators, announced its plans to spend more than 100 million baht on technology development, including artificial intelligence (AI), as the second-hand car market is expanding as a result of the Covid-19 impact.
• In July 2022, One2car.com, a used car online platform in Thailand announced its plans to grow its user base from 22 million to 28 million, leads from 2.8 million to 4.2 million, listings from 40,000 to 60,000, and paid dealers from 1,000 to 2,000. The company aims to transform One2Car.com from the largest online automotive classified site into a one-stop channel that covers the complete automotive market. That includes buying, owning, and selling used and new cars.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Please note: This publisher does offer titles that are created upon receipt of order. If you are purchasing a PDF Email Delivery option above, the report will take approximately 2 business days to prepare and deliver.