Of the 14,327 new vehicles, 10,605 were saloon cars, while the rest were pick-up trucks.
Phuket, despite being one of the smallest of Thailand’s 77 provinces, ranked 22nd in the nation for its take-up of the government’s offer.
The tax rebate is not immediate. Pawida Dadunwong of the Phuket Excise Department explained, “Buyers have to give all the documents to the Excise Department. They will receive the refund one year after driving the car out of the showroom.”
Buyers must keep their cars for at least another four years after that. If they do not they will be obliged to repay the rebate.
Teerayut Prasertpol, Director of the Phuket Transportation Department told The Phuket News, “Our records show that 386,792 vehicles are registered in the province – 81,649 cars, 3,380 minibuses, 40,038 pickups, 257,426 motorbikes and 4,299 others.”
In a normal year, he said, the number of vehicles registered in Phuket increases by about 8,000. Last year, however, with the First Car project number added in, the number of four-wheel vehicles coming on the road for the first time jumped by more than 22,000, a leap of 17 per cent.
Mr Teerayut said this would definitely have an effect on traffic, and may result in more projects such as the Central Festival underpass having to be built to keep traffic flowing.
He added, “The project is a government one, so I have to accept it.”