Four Japanese automakers will invest $4.3 billion in Thailand

วันที่นำเข้าข้อมูล 12 Jan 2024

วันที่ปรับปรุงข้อมูล 12 Jan 2024

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Four of Japan’s top automakers will invest $4.3 billion over the next five years to transition their plants in Thailand to manufacture electric vehicles, showcasing the Kingdom’s enduring appeal as the car-making capital of the region.

The planned investments by Toyota, Honda, Isuzu, and Mitsubishi come on the heels of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s trip to Tokyo in mid-December for the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit marking 50 years of friendship and cooperation.

While in Tokyo, the Thai Prime Minister met with executives from the leading carmakers there. All of them have been manufacturing vehicles in Thailand for many decades - a big reason the Kingdom has often been referred to as “the Detroit of Asia.”

But with the transition to electric vehicles, other nations in the region have been challenging Thailand’s premier position in the auto industry and win investment away from the Kingdom.

Thai Government Spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said Japanese car manufacturers told the Prime Minister that they would keep Thailand as their primary production base in the region. Prime Minister Srettha responded that the Thai Government is ready to support their shift to new technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“Thailand is keen to cooperate with Japanese carmakers who want to expand investment in the country to create mutual benefits for the EV industries of both countries,” the spokesperson said.

Thailand has a target of converting 30 percent of the 2.5 million vehicles made in the Kingdom into electric vehicles by 2030. The government is formulating new packages of incentives to encourage more investment in and transition to electric vehicle manufacturing.