Southeast Asia: Next boom market? Auto industry's enthusiasm cools for Brazil, Russia, India.

Via Automotive News: Auto industry executives are still upbeat about China, but their enthusiasm for the other BRIC countries has waned.

New markets are in demand -- and are being discovered -- such as Southeast Asia.

Stefan Wolf, CEO of German parts maker ElringKlinger, sums up the situation: "You can delete the letters B, R and I from the once highly praised BRIC nations. Only the C is left. By contrast, the ASEAN zone offers strong sales potential for the vehicle industry."

The B, R and I stand for Brazil, Russia and India. ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a political and economic organization of 10 countries.

Raphael Berthoud, who is responsible for India and Thailand at Faurecia Interior Systems, stresses that "Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, is a major growth market for the automotive industry."

Japanese automakers have long had a presence in the region, which has about 600 million inhabitants, but Ford and General Motors have settled into Rayong, Thailand, as well, Berthoud said.

In addition, Volkswagen assembles vehicles from kits in Malaysia with partner DRB-Hicom.

Rudi von Meister, president for the Asia-Pacific region of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, emphasizes that "many of the next 15 countries with up-and-coming economies are located in Southeast Asia."

ZF has been active in a number of these "BRIC successor states," in some cases for years.

Ralf Dieter, CEO of Duerr AG, also has confidence in Southeast Asia.

"Experts expect vehicle production in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia to rise about 40 percent by 2018," he said. "In the course of this growth, international automakers will expand their production capacity in the region."

Thai coup knocks GM off course in Asean

Via Financial Times:
General Motors said it was “struggling” in southeast Asia as the recent military coup in Thailand knocked sales, compounding stiff competition from Japanese rivals and local currency weakness that has hurt the profitability of imports.
The admission is a sign that fluctuations in emerging market currencies are causing the largest US carmaker by sales to rethink its strategy in a region seen by carmakers as one of the world’s most promising and increasingly benefiting from a rising middle class.

“We are struggling in Asean for many reasons – mainly due to the political impact in Thailand,” said Stefan Jacoby, head of GM’s consolidated international operations, a unit that includes all of the carmaker’s businesses outside North America except China and Latin America.

Mazda plans to end Thai passenger vehicle production JV with Ford

Mazda is said to be planning to dissolve a passenger vehicle production joint venture (JV) with Ford, reports Nikkei Report. According to the news service, the Japanese automaker intends to take over the production line currently run by Ford, which would initially lift its production at the Auto Alliance Thailand site from 50,000 units per annum (upa) to 100,000 upa by 2018. Ford will shift production to its other site in the country in stages. Mazda also intends to produce engines at the same site by then, with total investment reaching JPY30 billion (USD294.6 million). However, Mazda and Ford will retain stakes in a site that will continue to produce pick-ups for the pair.

Thai car industry eyes SA venture

Via iafrica: The Thai automotive industry has expressed interest in partnering and forming joint ventures with South African companies, says the Department of Trade and Industry (dti).

In a statement on Tuesday, the dti said that the Thailand Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (TAPMA) has shown interest in partnering and forming joint ventures with their South African counterparts in order to grow the sector in both countries.

A South African business delegation arrived in Thailand for an Outward Selling and Investment Mission (OSIM) that kicked off, on Monday, in Bangkok. OSIM is profiling South Africa as an investment destination of choice.

The business delegation, on Tuesday, embarked on a site visit to the Thai automotive body parts manufacturers, Somboon Advanced Groups Plant and Summit Auto Body Plant, outside Bangkok.

TAPMA President Achana Limpaitoon committed to future collaboration with South African automotive exporters.

She said the Thailand Automotive Industry had gone through years of a challenging struggle but had managed to achieve noticeable successes.

"The industry is now going for higher regional and global competition, and I do hope for more collaboration in future for Thailand and South Africa," she said.

Limpaitoon said she believed this visit would lead to exchange of ideas, transfer of skills and technology that would benefit Thailand and South Africa.

Click here to read more...

Mitsubishi Thailand hopes to sell 10,000 Attrage units via Chrysler in Mexico

Chrysler will sell a rebadged Mitsubishi Motors Corp compact sedan in Mexico, in a five-year deal that will help the Japanese automaker maintain production levels at its Thailand production base.


Mitsubishi hopes that Chrysler de Mexico will sell at least 10,000 of the rebadged Attrage sedans a year, adding that it was likely to be sold under Chrysler's Dodge brand.

Chrysler de Mexico has been distributing Mitsubishi brand cars since 2003 and can import vehicles from Thailand without paying tariffs.

MG Thailand plans expansion

Via THE NATION: SAIC MOTOR-CP Co, the manufacturer and distributor of MG vehicles in Thailand, is studying plans that could lead to an investment of as much as Bt30 billion-Bt40 billion in a second assembly plant within three years.

Yesterday the company staged a media unveiling of its MG6 at its Bt9 billion plant at the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Chon Buri. The facility on a 30-rai site is capable of producing 50,000 units per year.

Thanakorn Seriburi, vice president of Charoen Pokphand Group, said SAIC Motor-CP targets domestic sales of 200,000 units, or 10 per cent of the market, by the third year of operation.

The second plant would use 500 rai to assemble up to 150,000-200,000 units per year.

The company plans to produce six to seven models in Thailand ranging from passenger cars to SUVs.

Production is targeted at 2,000 units this year with deliveries starting next quarter. But next year output is expected to jump to 14,000 units, as production of the MG3 and MG5 for both domestic and export markets commences.

Nissan early with new plant

Via Bangkok Post: Operations at Nissan's second Thai factory will begin next month, ahead of schedule despite the unfavourable economy and political troubles. The plant will produce the 12th generation of pickup trucks, an all-new Nissan NP300 Navara.
"Despite Thailand's political turmoil, we are not putting off operation of the second plant," said Hiroyuki Yoshimoto, president of Nissan Motor (Thailand). "In fact, operations will start one month earlier than scheduled."
Nissan announced in late 2012 its ambitious plan to invest 11 billion baht in a Thai facility, and nearly 10 billion baht was spent on its second factory. The rest was spent on the Nissan Technical Center South East Asia (NTCSEA), the third testing centre outside Japan and an R&D hub for Asean that opened last August.
Nissan acquired 150 rai next to its existing factory on Bang Na-Trat Road in Samut Prakan province to build the second plant, focusing on pickup truck production with an initial output of 75,000 vehicles a year. The new factory is set to open on July 3, and the company plans to double production there to 150,000 units over the next few years.
Nissan's existing plant makes 220,000 pickup trucks and passenger cars a year, and once the second plant is running at full capacity annual production capacity will reach 370,000 vehicles excluding the 60,000 Navara pickup trucks now built at Mitsubishi's factory at Laem Chabang in Chon Buri.
Mr Yoshimoto said Nissan will continue producing the Navara for export only at the Mitsubishi plant to cope with strong global demand. But he added that the company was poised to stop operations at the Mitsubishi plant and move production to the new plant once global demand shrinks.
The company is due to deliver the new NP300 Navara to Thai customers in August, with retail prices and export plans announced on July 3.
Nissan expects sales for the NP300 Navara in the Thai market will number 3,000 units per month.
For this fiscal year starting April 1, Nissan aims at local sales of 100,000 units, up from 74,000 units in fiscal 2013.
Nissan forecast Thailand's overall domestic sales to reach 900,000 to 1 million vehicles this year compared with 1.33 million vehicles in 2013.