HK’s opens Subaru car assembly factory in Thailand

The 100,000sqm facility in Bangkok is set to produce more than 6,000 Subaru Foresters for Southeast Asian markets in its first operating year. TCIL

BANGKOK, Apr 25, 2019, Bangkok Post. Hong Kong-listed Tan Chong International Ltd (TCIL) plans to localise its assembly line for four Subaru car models in the near future after starting operations at its five billion baht ($156.33 million) plant in Thailand, reported The Phnom Penh Post.

TCIL plans to spend $10-20 million to install new equipment for a paint and body shop at the Lat Krabang plant this year and another $15 million to expand production capacity over five years.

The company opened an assembly plant at Lat Krabang Industrial Estate in Bangkok on Tuesday, which covers 100,000sqm.

The plot was the former assembly facility for Fuso, a Japanese heavy-duty truck.

TCIL and Tokyo-based Subaru Corporation formed a joint venture – Tan Chong Subaru Automotive Thailand – in February 2017 to handle this local facility.

TCIL holds a majority stake of 74.9 per cent through subsidiary TC Manufacturing and Assembly Thailand, while Subaru owns the remainder.

The Lat Krabang plant is Subaru’s first foothold in Asia outside of Japan.

The Subaru Forester is scheduled to be assembled here.

This year, TCIL plans to assemble 6,000 cars.

“Maximum capacity can reach 100,000 Subaru cars per year, with two working shifts,” said TCIL deputy chairman and managing director Glenn Tan.

“We will work to maximise this facility to assemble four Subaru models in the future.”

TCIL, through subsidiary Motor Image Group, holds a distribution licence to sell Subaru vehicles not only in Thailand, but also in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, southern China, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam via more than 120 outlets.

Tan said the Lat Krabang facility will handle exports of the Forester to Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia from the fourth quarter.

This year, Motor Image expects to sell 25,000 Subaru cars in 10 countries, with Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia expected to be key markets.

Last year, the company sold 23,000 Subaru cars, 8,000 of which were sold in Taiwan.

Subaru sales in Thailand for the period stood at 2,260 cars, up by 6.5 per cent from 2017.

“With the new production of Forester in Thailand, we expect sales from this country to reach 5,000 cars in 2019,” said Tan.

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