BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand is considering a measure to allow pickup trucks of 20-25 years to be traded in for new ones with a tax discount in a bid to boost sluggish sales, the finance minister said on Monday.
“Discussions have already begun with relevant parties,” Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters, without giving details.
Domestic car sales in the Southeast Asian automobile hub rose slightly in April for first time in nearly two years, but sales of pickup trucks continued to decline, with buying hit by tighter credit at a time of soaring household debt.
In February, Reuters reported that Thailand was in early discussions with carmakers to introduce a car trade-in and scrapping scheme in a bid to revive an industry hit by its biggest crisis in decades.
Thailand is Southeast Asia’s biggest autos production centre and an export base for some of the world’s top carmakers, including Toyota, Honda and China’s BYD.
Pichai also said measures would be introduced provide more debt relief and to stabilise local energy prices.
He expects no impact on domestic energy prices if Middle East tensions are not prolonged.
He also said there had been no unusual capital flows reported in Thailand.
(Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon and Orathai Sriring; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by David Stanway)
