THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

German tyre-maker mulling Thailand for new plant

German tyre-maker mulling Thailand for new plant

GERMAN AUTOMOTIVE group Continental will decide by the end of this year whether to choose Thailand as its new tyre-manufacturing site.

Sirivan Koo-Amphorn, general manager of Continental Tyres Thailand, said she was scheduled to meet with the Thai authorities next week to hear what incentives and support the government could offer to the proposed project, in addition to the Board of Investment’s privileges.
The proposed tyre project would serve not only the Thai market but would also be for export to other countries in the region, she said.
Sirivan said Continental hoped to win support from the government considering the fact that tyre manufacturing is one the targeted industries that the government has decided to promote because of its benefit to rubber planters.
Sales of Continental tyres in Thailand have grown fourfold since 2012, though its market share is still less than 3 per cent. The German automotive group aims to double its market share from an original target if it has a factory here.
The company currently imports tyres from Malaysia, where it has a production base.
Despite a sluggish tyre market overall, Continental increased its sales in Thailand by more than 20 per cent during the first half of this year and expects them to grow even more in the second half, thank to an expansion of its dealership network. The company plans to grow its dealer network by 30 per cent from its current network of nearly 300 over the next 12 months.
The company will also set up its first two “ContiShops” in Thailand, as well as start penetrating the pickup-truck, sport-utility and van tyre markets next year. It currently focuses only on the high-inch tyre segment (16-inch rim and up).
Sirivan said Continental Tyres Thailand booked 20-per-cent growth in sales revenue to nearly Bt1 billion last year, despite a decline in the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) market.
Meanwhile, Continental yesterday announced that it had chosen Thailand as the first market in the Asia-Pacific region to have its ContiPressureCheck (CPC) tyre-pressure monitoring system. Equipped with sensors mounted inside the tyre and a control device and receiver attached to the chassis, CPC is aimed at reducing fleet costs by ensuring proper tyre use and maintenance. 
Sirivan said CPC’s initial targets included major fleet operators of buses and hazardous-goods trucks. It aims to sell 4,000 tyres equipped with the system this year. 
Unlike in Europe where it works on an open-system platform, Continental has joined forces with GT&T Engineering, a Singapore-based provider of vehicle-tracking systems, to launch the CPC system to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.
Srun Pitaksit, managing director of Global Positioning Liberty System, a company that is working with GT&T to deploy the CPC system in Thailand and other markets, said fleet operators would not have to pay for the hardware but only a monthly fee of a few hundred baht extra for using the system. 
Besides saving fuel, extending the tyre’s life span and reducing the chance of accidents, CPC will help tackle the No 1 problem in Thai fleets, tyre theft, he added. Continental has invited more than 100 fleet operators to a demonstration of its CPC system today.
 
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