April 28, 2025 – In the automotive industry landscape of Southeast Asia, Thailand has emerged as a pivotal hub for vehicle manufacturing in recent years, thanks to its robust industrial ecosystem and supportive policies. As the automotive sector thrives, the country’s automotive coating industry has also come into the spotlight, showcasing a distinctive development trend and promising potential.
Over the past two decades, Thailand has firmly established itself as one of the most significant automotive industry centers in Southeast Asia. Leveraging its status as a bustling automotive manufacturing hub and export base for global automotive giants like Honda and Toyota, the nation has become the largest producer of automotive coatings in the region. However, 2024 posed formidable challenges for Thai automotive coating manufacturers. A record – breaking decline in vehicle production led to an approximate 18% drop in coating demand. Statistics reveal that Thailand’s automotive output in 2024 plunged by around 20% compared to 2023, hitting a four – year low. Interestingly, despite its substantial production volume, Thailand has a relatively low vehicle ownership rate compared to some Asian counterparts, which paradoxically opens up vast opportunities for automotive coating producers.
As a leading global automotive manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia, Thailand’s automotive industry hosts 44 vehicle manufacturers from nine countries, namely China, Italy, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the UK, and the US, producing 29 automotive brands. Since the 1960s, the automotive sector has been the cornerstone of Thailand’s economy, contributing 18% to the nation’s GDP in 2021. From 2010 to 2023, the number of light and heavy vehicles in Thailand soared from 10.8 million to 20.8 million, while motorcycles increased from 17.3 million to 22.7 million. As of 2023, motorcycles accounted for 53% of Thailand’s motor vehicle market, followed by passenger cars at 27% and commercial vehicles at 20%. In 2024, automotive production in Thailand decreased from 1.83 million units in 2023 to 1.47 million units, with output experiencing 17 consecutive months of year – on – year decline by December 2024. According to the Federation of Thai Industries, Thailand’s automotive production is projected to reach 1.5 million units in 2025, with 1 million units destined for export and the rest for the domestic market.
The Thai automotive coating market has attracted major global players to set up operations. In 2017, AkzoNobel Thailand invested 31 million euros to build a new high – performance coating factory in Chonburi, expanding its business footprint in the country. The same year, it also acquired V.Powdertech Co., Ltd., a Thai powder coating manufacturer. Since entering the Thai market in 1967, Nippon Paint Thailand now operates three factories dedicated to the automotive sector, including an automotive refinish paint factory in Samut Prakan and two OEM coating factories in Bang Pakong, Chonburi, holding a market share of over 25% in Thailand’s automotive segment. In November 2023, NP Automotive Refinish Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the NIPSEA Group, acquired D – Act Co., Ltd., a renowned manufacturer of commercial vehicle paints, automotive refinish paints, and specialized industrial coatings, further strengthening its leading position in Thailand’s automotive refinish and commercial vehicle coating markets. Thai Kansai Paint has been producing automotive coatings since 1968 and currently owns three modern factories in Samut Prakan, Gateway City Industrial Estate, and Rayong. BASF Coatings operates an automotive coating production base in the Bang Phu Industrial Estate, Samut Prakan. Since its commissioning in 2017, the base has produced solvent – based and water – based automotive coatings to meet the growing demands of the local and surrounding markets. It also collaborates with the ASEAN Coating Technology Competence Center established in the same period, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and market responsiveness, and has the potential for future capacity expansion.
Industry insights suggest that with the Thai government’s strong push for the development of new energy vehicles (NEVs), setting a clear target to make NEVs account for 30% of Thailand’s automotive sales by 2030 and rolling out a series of incentives such as import and consumption tax exemptions and charging infrastructure construction, the Thai NEV market is growing rapidly. In 2023, NEV sales in Thailand accounted for about 9% of total domestic vehicle sales and are expected to double by the end of 2024. This trend presents new opportunities for the automotive coating industry. The unique exterior designs, lightweight requirements, and protection needs of key components like batteries in NEVs prompt coating companies to develop new coating products with better insulation and corrosion resistance to meet the demands of the evolving NEV industry.