Toyota has introduced a widely used Japanese auto-financing product in Thailand, aiming to lower the hurdle of car ownership and defend its market share against low-priced Chinese electric vehicles, according to a report by Nikkei carried by Chinese outlet Gasgoo.
The scheme, called “zankure” (residual-value credit), sets an estimated residual value for a vehicle at the end of a three-to-five-year contract. Buyers repay only the difference between the car's price and that projected residual value, making monthly installments lower than under a standard loan. For example, a five-year contract with a 30% residual rate and 4% interest can cut monthly payments by about 30%.
At the end of the term, customers can return the car, trade it in for a new one, or purchase it at the agreed residual value. Toyota launched the product in Thailand in August, and it is available at nearly all of the company's dealers nationwide. Similar products have been offered on a small scale in Singapore and Malaysia, but Thailand marks the first major rollout in Toyota's largest Southeast Asian market.
Thai consumers traditionally buy cars outright and keep them for years, but installment plans for appliances and motorcycles have become more common, paving the way for fixed monthly payments. Toyota also hopes the scheme will improve transparency in Thailand's used-car market, where private sales are common and fair resale prices are hard to assess.
Japanese automakers under pressure
The move is part of Toyota's broader push to grow revenue beyond new-car sales. The company aims to lift such business income by 40% to 3 trillion yen (about $18 billion) by fiscal 2030, with used-car sales and financial services as core pillars.
Toyota has led Thailand's auto market for nearly five decades, but Chinese EVs priced below comparable gasoline models have rapidly gained traction. According to KPMG Consulting, Thai passenger-vehicle sales rose 15% year-on-year to about 350,000 units in the first half of the year, with EVs reaching a record 31% share, up about 14 percentage points. Government subsidies and an influx of vehicles from China's surplus production capacity have fueled the surge.
BYD has launched several new models in Thailand, including the Atto 3 electric SUV priced at about 670,000 baht (about $19,900), roughly 20% less than the Toyota Yaris Cross at about 820,000 baht. In 2025, BYD ranked third in Thai sales, behind Toyota and Honda. Data from the Japan External Trade Organization shows Chinese automakers' share of Thailand's vehicle registrations reached 26% in 2026, up about 20 percentage points from 2021, while Japanese brands, including Toyota, fell about 21 points to 64%.
Other Japanese automakers are adjusting too. Suzuki stopped local production in 2024 and sold its plant to Ford; Honda consolidated two factories and cut capacity; Nissan closed one of two plants. Research firm GlobalData predicts Thai new-vehicle sales will grow about 50% to 950,000 units by 2038.
