Thailand exported 353,886 auto vehicles during the first eight months of this year, up 29.17 per cent contrasted with the same period in 2005, industry sources said on Wednesday.

Altogether 796,552 vehicles were gathered locally in the January to August period of 2006, of that 442,666 units were sold on the domestic market, up 1.7 per cent year-on-year, said the Federation of Thai Industries' automotive club.

Exports fared better. The 353,886 exported vehicles, typically one-ton pickup trucks, earned Thailand 155.3 billion baht (4.2 billion dollars), up 23.35 per cent.