The firm says the region’s sales expanded slightly by 2% to 3.36m in 2013, with the growth built up on a considerable decline in Thailand, which held around 42% of the share in the region in the previous year. Sales in other markets essentially increased, and could compensate the decline in Thailand, reducing the share of the country to 38%.

In its report, LMCA said: ‘In fact, sales in Thailand reduced 8% and stood at 1.29m, slightly less than what was speculated within the industry at around 10%. This was mainly as a result of a 20% increase in the first half of the year, as deliveries of orders spilled over from the first car scheme in 2012. In contrast, sales in the second half reduced considerably by 30%. Sales reduced in virtually all segments over this time, but the Pickup, Sub‐Compact Car and Compact Car segments saw volume affected the most.

‘Sales in Indonesia closed at 1.11m with a 10% increase. The most significant change in the market was the launch of the Low Cost Green Car program (LCGC) in September, which boosted sales of Mini Car models to around 53k, from below 9k in 2012. As this was on the back of four LCGC models from Toyota, Daihatsu, Suzuki and Honda, the addition of a few more models in 2014 could further intensify the positive momentum in the segment.

‘Malaysia has also seen its vehicle market expand gradually by 4%, pushing toward 650k a year. The most significant growth was observed in the Compact Car segment, which was mainly driven by strong demand for the Nissan Almera. The government recently announced its new National Automotive Plan, which mainly targets the supply side.

‘Sales in the Philippines increased considerably by 14% to 206k. The increase could be observed in virtually all segments, but most significantly in the Sub‐Compact Car and the SUV segments. The Mitsubishi Mirage, both hatchback and sedan versions, was the main driver for the growth in the former, while the Mitsubishi Montero Sport and the Chevrolet Trailblazer were behind the growth in the latter.

‘Vietnam also ended 2013 sales with high growth, seeing a 28% increase to 105k. Sales increased in all segments, except for the Light Truck segment. The most significant increase was seen in the Pickup segment, with the Ford Ranger and the Mazda BT‐50 being the game changers. Looking at these numbers, it was likely that buyers shifted from Light Trucks to Pickups for commercial use.’