Automobile exports in the first nine months this year rose 21.46% from the same period last year to 599,431 units worth 434.27 billion baht, an increase of 27.7%, according to Federation of Thai Industries' automobile industry club.

Surapong Phaisitpattanapong, the club spokesman, said total automobile production also rose 14.5% for the period to 1.07 million units, of which 603,063 units were made for export and the remaining 465,667 for local sales.

Production of passenger cars for the nine months rose 32.42% to 308,255 units while pickup trucks were up 9.23% to 746,375 units.

Car production for export increased 30.4% year-on-year to 135,895 units while pickup trucks for export totalled 467,168 units, up 19.3%.

Car production for domestic sales rose 34.05% to 172,360 units but pickup output fell 4.25% to 279,207 units.

In September, vehicle production rose 5.7% year-on-year to 123,834 units. Of the total, 50,301 units were made for the domestic market, down 2.46% year-on-year due to the local market slump. Vehicle sales in September fell 10.5% year-on-year to 47,881 units as a result of the poor economic outlook, political tension, expensive fuel, falling farm prices and poor consumer confidence.