Automotive industry in Thailand
[2][3][4] The Thai industry has an annual output of more than two million vehicles (passenger cars and pickup trucks), more than countries such as Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Czech Republic and Turkey.
[4] Most of the vehicles built in Thailand are developed and licensed by foreign producers, mainly Japanese, American and Chinese but with several other brands as well for CKD production, notably BMW and Mercedes.
The Thai car industry takes advantage of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) to find a market for many of its products.
Compared to the import substitution efforts of other Southeast Asian nations, Thailand's government has generally allowed a larger role in guiding development to alliances of manufacturers themselves.
[6]: 32–34 Thailand also provided efficient governmental incentives and support for the lesser component manufacturers, enabling them to develop on pace with the multinationals.
[7]: 152 [9]: 9 Nonetheless new manufacturers quickly appeared, like FSO and Fiat's "Karnasuta General Assembly Co." and a joint venture between Siam Motors and Nissan.
[6][9] The 1985 Plaza Accord meant more Japanese direct investment in Thailand, and as the economy began booming the last years of the 1980s saw strong growth.
[7] In 1987 a benchmark was reached when Mitsubishi Thailand became the first producer to export Thai-built vehicles, a shipment of 488 passenger cars and 40 buses sent to Canada.
The Japanese manufacturers responded by cutting costs and by introducing market specific, low-priced cars like the Honda City and the Toyota Soluna.
[7]: 178 Thai suppliers had also reached a higher level in the nineties, now offering precision injection-molded pieces and with an eye to producing ever more sophisticated products in the future.
[1] Thailand introduced tax incentives in 2007 for the local production of eco-cars, small-engine vehicles with low fuel consumption that meet European carbon emissions standards.
[6]: 7 Light and medium trucks, as well as microvans, also provide the basis for the ubiquitous songthaew, (shared taxis), which serve local transport needs throughout Thailand.
[19] The BMW Group Manufacturing Thailand plant was built in 2000 with a total investment of more than 2.6 billion baht, occupying a space of approximately 75,000 square meters.
The head of BMW Motorrad Thailand said that the Thai market for big motorbikes (greater than 500 cc) rose by seven percent in 2016, to 18,500 units.
[21]: 404 Some market specific models of the Mira, most notably a pickup version, were developed, but Daihatsu withdrew from Thailand subsequent to the 1997 financial crisis.
After the 1997 Asian financial crisis and resulting market collapse this aim had to be adjusted, and by 2002 90 percent of the production of General Motors' Rayong plant was being exported, as far away as Europe and Chile.
The most famous model of Honda Thailand is the 1996 City, a small sedan developed especially for the ASEAN markets and not intended for sale in Japan.
In November 2015 SAIC Motor-CP purchased 438 rai in Chonburi Province in order to build a second, 700,000 m2 facility at an estimated cost of 30-40 billion baht.
The Thai R&D team has been working since 2017 until achieved a certain step before setting up a new subsidiary company named Mine Mobility Research Co., Ltd. by the end of 2017 to fully develop electrical vehicle.
This focus on global exports was of considerable aid to MMTh the tight years after the Asian financial crisis, when the local markets collapsed.
[41] Nissan was the first Japanese producer to build a plant in Thailand, in a 1962 joint venture with Siam Motors, founded by Dr. Thaworn Phornprapha.
[6]: 51 Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Company, which builds Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Thailand, has a 30 percent stake in a joint venture producing Indian Tata Motors automobiles since 2007.
[citation needed] Some discontinued TR vans were powered by Land Rover engine in combination with Thai-developed body design and platform.
Modern TR cars are based on small or medium trucks, developed into SUV or seven-seat multi-purpose vehicles by Thai Rung themselves.
[citation needed] The excise tax structure for automobiles in Thailand is determined by several variables, including body style, carbon dioxide output, engine displacement, ethanol fuel compatibility and the inclusion of eco-friendly technology.
[47][48] The Thai government has handed tax incentives to several automotive segments, mainly to eco-friendly cars and pickup trucks.
[49] The program promotes compact fuel-efficient internal combustion cars to be built in the country as opposed to the popular pickup trucks.
The pickup truck segment had been a traditionally strong market in Thailand due to the low excise tax imposed by the government compared to passenger cars.
As the result, most automakers including Toyota, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Ford, Nissan, Mazda and Chevrolet manufactured pickup trucks for domestic sales and exports to most regions around the world.
BMW: 2 Series Gran Coupé, 3 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series, X1, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 BYD: Atto 3, Dolphin, Sealion 6 Ford: Everest, Ranger GAC Aion: ES, Y Plus GWM: Poer Sahar Haval: H6, Jolion Honda: Accord, City, City Hatchback, Civic, CR-V, e:N1, HR-V Isuzu: D-Max, MU-X Mazda: 2, 3, BT-50, CX-3, CX-30 Mercedes-Benz: A-Class, C-Class, E-Class, S-Class, CLE, EQS, EQS SUV, GLA, GLC, GLE, GLS Mitsubishi: Pajero Sport, Triton, Xpander, Xpander Cross MG: 3, 4 EV, 5, Extender, HS, VS, ZS, ZS EV Neta: V-II, X Nissan: Almera, Kicks, Navara, Terra, NV350 Urvan Ora: Good Cat Tank: 300, 500 Toyota: Camry, Commuter, Corolla Altis, Corolla Cross, Fortuner, HiAce, Hilux, Hilux Champ, Yaris Ativ, Yaris, Yaris Cross Pickup truck Crossover / SUV (J) Mini (A) / Small (B) Car Medium (C) / Large (D) Car X E Eco Car X P Pickup truck-based SUV 2023
