Key facts
- Toyota Motor is offering a new financing option in Thailand to make its vehicles more affordable.
- The financing allows buyers to exclude residual value from payments.
- Japanese automakers' market share in Thailand has fallen below 70% for the first time.
- Chinese brands have gained significant market share in Thailand, particularly in passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
- In the first half of 2026, Chinese brands accounted for 90.0% of battery-EV passenger-car registrations in Thailand.
- Japanese brands maintained a strong hold on hybrid passenger-car registrations in Thailand, with 97.8% share in the first half of 2026.
Toyota Motor has introduced a new financing strategy in Thailand, common in Japan, to make its vehicles more affordable and counter the growing presence of inexpensive Chinese electric vehicles. This move comes as Japanese automakers are experiencing a significant decline in market share in Thailand.
In 2025, Japanese brands' combined share of Thailand's new-vehicle market dropped below 70% for the first time, falling to 69.3% from 76.7% in the previous year. While Toyota managed to grow its volume, the overall Japanese brand volume declined by 2.0% in a rising market. The erosion was particularly sharp in the commercial vehicle segment, where the Japanese share fell 10.6 percentage points to 73.8%, though the core one-ton pickup segment remained dominated by Japanese manufacturers at 91.2%.
Data for the first half of 2026 indicate an acceleration of this trend. According to the Federation of Thai Industries, Japanese brands held 62.8% of new registrations, while Chinese brands captured 26.5%. At the Bangkok International Motor Show in March-April 2026, Chinese brands secured 68.1% of vehicle bookings, surpassing the Japanese share of 27.3%.
The market has bifurcated by powertrain: Chinese makers dominate battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), holding 90.0% of passenger-car registrations in the first half of 2026, while Japanese makers lead in hybrid passenger cars with a 97.8% share. Production restructuring is also underway, with Subaru ending local production in December 2024 and Suzuki ceasing operations at its Thai plant at the end of 2025.
Toyota's new financing option aims to address the affordability challenge posed by Chinese competitors, who have rapidly gained traction by offering lower-priced EVs. The company also plans to reintroduce an electric car and launch its lowest-priced hybrid vehicle in Thailand.