Chinese automaker SAIC Motor’s Thai joint venture, SAIC Motor-CP, this week confirmed that it has suspended production of its MG Extender pickup truck altogether until market conditions in the country improve significantly. The company has a vehicle assembly plant in Rayong province with a production capacity of 100,000 units per year.
The overall Thai domestic vehicle market dropped by 26% to 572,675 units last year, driven lower by a 38% plunge in pickup truck sales to 163,328 units, as banks and vehicle finance companies tightened lending as non-performing loans (NPLs) continued to soar throughout the year.
SAIC Motor’s local distributor, MG Sales (Thailand) Company, sold just 1,124 Extender models in 2024, while local production fell to just a trickle as stocks continued to build up. The MG brand’s overall sales in Thailand more than doubled to 17,240 units last year, however, as the company introduced new models including the MG3 and the locally-made MG Mullan crossover vehicle.
The company has set a sales target of 20,000 vehicles for 2025, with electrified models expected to account for 60% of these – up from 50% last year.
Pongsak Lertruedeewattanavong, vice president of MG Sales (Thailand), said in a statement: “Pickups are not our main products at this moment, so we are not severely affected by the production halt. We will come back to produce pickups when the market recovers.”
