Big bike forced off road by car on Bangkok highway - video

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YEAR-END SPECIAL

Auto-makers prepare for another big year

By KINGSLEY WIJAYASINHA

THE NATION

With a sharp rebound in the Thai automobile market, auto-makers are quickly resuming production and making more investments to raise their capacity in the year ahead. This is good news for the local economy, since the sector contributes 12 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

After the hike in oil price and the economic crunch two years ago left the auto market in dire straits as financial companies tightened their approval measures, 2010 saw the Thai and global markets jumping back to an even better position than before.

In Thailand, auto sales are expected to exceed 750,000 units, the highest recorded in its 50-year history, and exports are also on the rise. In October, Thai auto production hit 152,689 units, the highest since Thailand started producing automobiles in 1961, according to figures from the Federation of Thai Industries' Automotive Industry Club.

Thailand's production capacity stands at 2 million units per year, and the country hopes to become one of the top 10 auto-producing nations within five years.

Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT), the largest auto-maker in the country, said it was planning to spend as much as Bt8 billion to boost production of its Hilux Vigo pickup truck and Fortuner utility vehicle at its plant in Chachoengsao province.

"While there is an incessant demand trend, TMT plans to increase the Ban Pho plant's production capacity from 140,000 units to 220,000 per year, commencing in August 2011," Kyoichi Tanada, president of TMT, said this month.

With the new investment plan, TMT will see its production capacity increased to 650,000 units per year.

Other auto-makers also have big plans. Mitsubishi, for instance, will invest as much as Bt16 billion to build a new plant here where it will produce a new compact model in 2012. It hopes to produce 150,000 units per year of the new model under the government's eco-car programme and also aims to produce enough for export to Europe and Japan.

Mitsubishi is also interested in introducing the i-MiEV electric car in Thailand, and is researching its potential in terms of acceptability and marketability of electric vehicles (EVs) locally, because it would need charging infrastructure as well as the setting up of user-support systems.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation president Osamu Masuko said: "The popularity of EVs in Thailand not only will contribute to a reduction in environmental burdens, but I also firmly believe it will be an important aspect in bolstering Thailand's competitive edge in the next-generation vehicle industry."

This year Thailand, better known for producing 1-tonne pickup trucks that do not require much technology, went a step farther with the assembly of the Toyota Prius hybrid car, which could well transform the country into a producer of hi-tech vehicles. Hybrids can run on petrol and electricity.

Although most of the parts are imported from Japan, TMT president Tanada said the company planned to raise the local content in time by bringing in suppliers. The Prius may also be exported, but production must first be able to satisfy domestic demand, Tanada said.

Meanwhile, Honda will be the second company after Nissan to launch a product under Thailand's eco-car programme. The Brio was unveiled at the Thailand International Expo this month, with the official launch slated for the first quarter of next year. Honda spent Bt6.2 billion to build a new plant for the Brio, raising its production capacity in Thailand to 240,000 units per year.

However, the spotlight in 2010 was mostly on Nissan, because it was the first company to launch an eco-car. Nissan has sold more than 25,000 units of its March model since it was introduced in March, and raised its annual sales by 100 per cent. Nissan plans to raise its market share to 9 per cent in 2011 and 10 per cent in 2012, said Toru Hasegawa, president of Nissan Motor Thailand.

Mazda and Ford are the two other brands that enjoyed tremendous growth thanks to introduction of small, fuel-efficient models.

The Mazda2 launched in late November last year helped the firm boost its sales by more than 200 per cent. Mazda2 sales have exceeded 20,000 units and the company plans to sell 35,000 vehicles (all models) this year.

Ford, meanwhile, hit the jackpot with its Fiesta. Introduced in early September, sales of the Fiesta are reaching 5,000 units, making up for as much as half of Ford's monthly sales in Thailand.

Both Ford and Mazda are to launch new pickup models in 2011 (Ranger and BT-50) and are jointly investing an additional Bt11.1 billion for that project. Ford, meanwhile, will invest another Bt14.2 billion to build a new plant in Rayong for producing the Focus in 2012.

-- The Nation 2010-12-22

[selftaopath]

Then why why why are car prices twice the amount than if the same car was purchased in USA?

Will the gouging go on and on and on? Does the government of Thailand care if the average person/family has only a motor bike for the family's mode of transportation?

I'll tell ya, What I paid for my 2nd hand car here in Land of Scams (LOS) was a/b 6 times the amount I would have paid in America. And I can hear it now...... go back to USA if ya don't like it right?????

Cheers,

K