Bangkok: Japanese lines are increasingly sending their car carriers to what is being described as Asia’s Detroit, namely Thailand, a nation that is powering ahead with huge numbers of cars being exported, according to an article on Bloomberg. Thailand surpassed China as Toyota’s third-biggest global production hub last year.
Toyota has three factories in the country and Honda and Nissan are about to invest a combined $850m to boost capacity in the kingdom.
And it is not just Japanese manufacturers that are choosing Thailand. Both Ford and Hyundai have big factory set ups in Thailand too.
Thailand’s total vehicle output may rise 30% to 3m units by the end of 2015, according to Macquarie.
“The biggest growth driver for Thailand’s automotive industry is the expansion of export capacity,” Macquarie analysts Chak Reungsinpinya and Clive Wiggins wrote in a report in December. “Thailand is now one of the fastest-growing global auto markets and production centers.” [21/02/13]
