Thailand is the largest producer of four-wheel vehicles in the ASEAN region and the 12th largest vehicle producer in the world. The strength of the industry lies in the combination of a long-standing presence of Japanese car manufacturers and solid domestic infrastructure. Moreover, the Thai industry has positioned itself as a regional export hub. Motor vehicle exports, including motorcycles, accounted for 8.3% of the total value of Thai exports in 2017. Export destinations showed a healthy level of diversification, reducing the vulnerability of the Thai industry to the economic cycle of clients. The next step for the Thai industry to maintain its regional leadership is to enhance the production of electric vehicles (EVs).

Latin America is well integrated in the global automotive supply chain, being an important manufacturing and export hub for motor vehicles – the legacy of active government policies for the development of domestic production and comprehensive free trade agreements. In 2017, the region accounted for 7.5% of global motor vehicle output and exported vehicles for a record-high USD 81.5bn, mainly destined to countries in the Americas and Europe, but also to Africa and Asia. Moreover, the relatively young and growing population, which reached 653mn people at end-2017, the rising purchasing power of households, and the government focus on development of the transport infrastructure have turned Latin America into one of the fastest growing new vehicle markets in the world, absorbing 6.3% of the global vehicle sales in 2017.

The Czech automotive sector’s GVA represents slightly over 5% of the country’s GDP. According to the Czech Automotive Industry Association (SAP), car manufacturers make up a quarter of the country's industrial output and 22% of its exports. Motor vehicle manufacturing directly contributes 9% to total economic output. The country is the fifth largest passenger car and the second largest bus producer in Europe. The Czech brand Skoda was the tenth bestselling passenger car (in terms of new registrations) in Europe in 2017. The sector also employed around 168,000 people in 2016, while indirectly it could provide employment to as many as 400,000 people.

The Colombian automotive sector is highly skewed towards the production of motorcycles. As motorcycles are the preferred mode of transport of the population, the country has emerged as the second-largest producer of two-wheel motor vehicles in South America, after Brazil. As to four-wheel vehicles, although Colombia is the third most populous country in the region with 49.3mn inhabitants at end-2017, both the scale of the production base and the size of the domestic market remain small. This is explained by the relatively low disposable income of the population compared to the regional average, which limits purchases of large durable goods, such as motor vehicles. The domestic automotive industry also features low levels of internationalisation, which makes it vulnerable to the ups and downs of the national economy. However, the industry is not able to meet local demand and Colombia’s dependence on imported motor vehicles and auto parts is extremely high.

China’s economy continues to transform to a more sustainable growth driven by domestic consumption. Growth is expected to stabilise at 6.7% y/y in 2017 after the slowdown in 2016 driven by the accommodative fiscal policy and the recovery of external demand. In 2017, domestic consumption is expected to improve by 8.6% y/y from 8.4% y/y in 2016, and exports will rebound by for the second consecutive year. Over the next five years, China will continue to transition to a slower, but a more sustainable growth. Inflation is expected to stabilise at 2% y/y in 2017, and improve to 2.6% y/y by 2020. Credit growth will slow down reflecting the regulatory measures of the Chinese government and the cooling real estate market in tier-one and “hot” tier-two cities. Domestic demand will continue to strengthen even though at a slower pace. Over the next five years, China’s current account surplus will be declining steadily due to the increase in the imports of goods, and the continuing increase in tourism outlays.

The Emerging Europe region will continue to develop as a thriving component manufacturing hub for the whole European region. The majority of vehicle production investment is heading to Russia as the market recovery gathers momentum and the government looks to encourage high levels of localisation. In our regular round-up of production investments, we track the latest projects from the production side of the industry and analyse regional trends that we see developing. In doing so, we hope to build a picture of any potential hubs that may be developing, as well as company strategy in terms of production bases and export programmes.

The automotive interior materials market has been segmented on the basis of products, application, vehicle type and region. On the basis of products, the market has been segmented into leather, composites, plastic, metals, and fabric. On the basis of application, the market has been fragmented into dashboard, seats, airbags & seat belts, door panel & trims, carpet and headliners and others.

We have segmented the global automotive electronics market based on four parameters including component, application, sales channel, and region. In the first level, the market has been segmented into the following automotive electronic components

We believe that Côte d'Ivoire's consumer base will continue to post strong growth over our 2018-2027 forecast period, which, in turn, will drive robust demand for vehicles. Furthermore, the government's continued commitment to further develop its infrastructure will create a supportive environment for Côte d'Ivoire's commercial vehicle segment.

We have revised up our forecast for new vehicle sales in Thailand to growth of 15.2% in 2018, up from our previous forecast of an 11.1% expansion. We continue to expect rising household spending, rising private sector investment, low interest rates, replacement demand following the expiry of the five-year lock-up period for vehicles bought under the first-time car buyer scheme and ongoing infrastructure development will drive growth in auto sales in the country over the remainder of 2018.