(dpa) - Thailand's automobile exports reached 37,269 vehicles in January, up 42.5 per cent from the same month last year, industry sources said Wednesday.

Surapong Paisitpattanapong, spokesman for Thailand's Auto Industry Club, said 86,197 vehicles were produced in Thailand last month, an increase of 12.3 per cent over January 2005.

Exports, primarily of 1-ton pickups, shot up 42.5 per cent in the same month and earned the country 22.5 billion baht (577 million dollars).

Last year, Thailand assembled about 1.13 million vehicles, of which 435,000 were exported, earning 160 billion baht (4.1 billion dollars).

Thailand, with more than 12 assembly plants for Japanese, US and European brand automobiles and a well-established auto parts and components industry has secured itself a position in the global automobile industry as the major production hub for Southeast Asia.