Toyota Doubles Down On Thailand With 10 Billion Baht More

It's more Board of Investment (BoI) news from up north. Toyota Motor Thailand has announced that they've submitted yet another plan to Thailand's BoI, this time for an investment of 10 billion Baht, in order to produce more eco-friendly cars locally. Just last month they announced their investment plans for hybrids and EVs, to the tune of 7,000 hybrid EVs and 70,000 EV batteries a year, as well as other parts such as doors and bumpers and front/rear axles totalling 9.1 million units.

It helps that Toyota plans for these facilities to cater to both domestic and export markets. Their roadmap will see them manufacturing hybrid EVs in Thailand for the next 3 to 4 years, with the introduction of full EV models by 2023. Back in 2017, Toyota Motor Thailand won privileges for a 19 billion Baht investment at their Gateway plant in Chachoengsao, and it's highly likely that their more recently filed plans will also see them winning the same privileges. It's this kind of environment that spurs economic and auto sector growth.

Hino is also getting in on the action, with a plan to invest 4 billion Baht this year in trucks and parts manufacturing facilities, as well as R&D and integrated services. This will see the relocation of their plant from Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate in Chon Buri to Asia Industrial Estate Suvarnabhumi in Samut Prakan. Construction will begin this July, with the factory set to begin operations in 2021 and exports to start in 2024 - from 13,000 trucks to 30,000 trucks a year over the course of that period.