Thai car sales skyrocketed in November, pushing the 11-month figures up by 74.7 per cent thanks mainly to the first-car-buyer scheme as well as strong purchasing power.

Vehicle sales last month spiked 477.6 per cent from November 2011 to a record 148,243 units, according to data compiled by Toyota Motor Thailand.

In the 11-month period, sales reached 1.29 million units, a 74.7-per-cent rise from the same period last year.

Domestic car sales are expected to hit 1.4 million units for the full year, against nearly 800,000 units last year.

"December sales should continue to rise, as buyers are rushing before the end of the first-car-buyer scheme at the end of this year. Moreover, auto companies are rushing to deliver some of the 85,000 vehicles ordered during the Motor Expo. There is a long waiting line for popular and newly launched models," Toyota said.

After last year's flood, major auto companies have boosted capacity to cope with brisk demand, from 1.3 million units per year in 2011 to 2.2 million this year.

November car sales set a new record, Toyota said in the statement. "It resulted from the low base last year when the auto industry was badly hit by the flood disaster, as well as spiking demand thanks to the government's first-car-buyer scheme. Auto companies' capacity increases also quickened vehicle delivery."

Last month, the number of passenger cars sold hit 77,743 units, up 509.9 per cent year on year. Among commercial-vehicle sales of 70,500 units, 1-tonne pickups accounted for 60,805, a 621.2-per-cent increase.

In the first 11 months, Toyota maintained the biggest market share of 36.8 per cent, with sales of 475,820 units.

Trailing behind were Isuzu and Honda, with sales of 191,897 and 150,745 units - or market shares of 14.9 per cent and 11.7 per cent respectively.