Staff writer

BANGKOK -- Japanese automakers have for years held sway over nearly 90 percent of the market in Thailand. Now they are struggling to cope with an abrupt turnaround in the country's economic fortunes.

The market here has enjoyed steady growth, reaching a record 598,000 autos in 1996. However, many industry analysts predict that the country's recent economic crisis will cut that figure to less than 400,000 this year, and that the market will probably not recover by the end of the decade.