Honda Begins Construction on New Thai Assembly Plant
The new facility, which mainly will build subcompact models, is a key part of Honda’s global strategy to achieve 6 million-unit sales by the end of March 2017.
Honda Thailand lays the cornerstone for a TB17.2 billion ($547.9 million) assembly plant with annual production capacity for 120,000 vehicles.
The new operation, which also includes an engine plant, mainly will produce subcompact models to meet increasing demand for such vehicles in Thailand and export markets including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Oceania, Middle East, Africa and Caribbean regions.
Plans for the plant were announced in February. It will launch production in 2015 and employ 2,500 workers.
The ceremony at the Rojana Industrial Estate, Prachinburi, 88 miles (140 km) northeast of Bangkok, was attended by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Honda Motor President & CEO Takanobu Ito.
Yingluck says the new factory demonstrates Honda’s strong recovery, as well as the confidence the auto maker has in Thailand as its main production base.
Honda’s production in Thailand was shut down for months after massive floods in 2011 put its plant under water. Since its return, it has seen record sales levels.
Ito says the new facility is a key part of Honda’s global strategy to achieve 6 million-unit sales by the end of March 2017.
“It reflects Honda’s commitment to build products close to the customer and to meet the increasing demand for automobiles in the Asia/Oceania region,” Ito says in a statement. “Thailand has long been an important (research and development) and production base and is one of our key markets in the Asia/Oceania region.”
Honda Thailand President and CEO Hiroshi Kobayashi says the plant will be Honda’s most advanced manufacturing facility in Asia. It will follow the advanced-manufacturing innovations that are being introduced at Honda’s new auto assembly plant in Yorii, Japan.
“These include shorter and greener production processes for welding, painting and assembling automobiles that offer the highest levels of efficiency,” Kobayashi says. “The new Prachinburi assembly plant will also mark the next level of advancement with reduced carbon-dioxide emissions and use recycled water to minimize water consumption in all production processes.”
Honda also is spending TB2.91 billion ($92.9 million) to expand production capacity at its Ayutthaya plant from 280,000 units to 300,000 by early 2014.
When both projects become operational in 2015, Honda’s total annual production capacity in Thailand will have reached 420,000 units.
About the Author
You May Also Like
