Automakers seek to build Thai eco-car

BANGKOK: -- Three major automakers are seeking permits to develop eco-car capacity in Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported Saturday.

Wanlop Tiesitri, the director of the Thailand Automotive Institute, said General Motors, Honda and Suzuki Motors have each proposed plans under which they would make at least 100,000 vehicles within two years.

The government's eco-car criteria call for a compact vehicle with Euro 4 emission standards and an engine able to accept ethanol-blended gasoline.

Ford and Mitsubishi were also conducting feasibility studies, but want lower taxation levels on eco-cars from the country's excise department, Wanlop said.

--UPI 2004-06-05

Ummmm...

Can you really call a car build by American and Japanese companies to European standards a "Thai" eco-car?

Same mess as the Thai electrical safety standard. The Europeans use double isolation, and the americans make use of a ground. The Thais have, apparently, decided that neither is required.

ASIC