Thailand Races to Supply SE Asia’s Demand for Vehicles

October 22, 2013

Thailand is gaining a reputation as the “Detroit of the East” for its booming automobile industry. It is now the world's third largest maker of commercial vehicles, behind only the United States and China and ranked ninth in total vehicle production. Many foreign-branded auto makers are producing vehicles in Rayong for Southeast Asia’s growing middle class.

This is one of the estimated two-and-half million vehicles rolling off Thailand's assembly lines this year.

Ford's regional president, Matt Bradley, praised the country as a highly successful model for manufacturing.

"Thailand, I think, has made a concerted effort from government policy in the last 15 years to plan to support the automotive industry. Ford has been in Thailand about 17 years and just since 2007 we've invested over a billion dollars in our manufacturing and product cycle plant footprint in Thailand," he said.

The automotive sector is now Thailand's third largest industry comprising 12 percent of the country's GDP and employing 400-thousand workers.

Bangkok's clogged roads attest to the success - with sales accelerated by government tax rebates to first-time buyers.

But can these vehicles rival those made in Japan, Europe or the United States?

Honda executive vice president Pitak Pruittisarikorn said the Japanese automaker was making high quality vehicles here at a competitive cost.