Auto production on target

“There are many months until the end of this year and I believe that all carmakers as well as dealers will adjust very quickly to the situation,” Piengjai Keawsuwan, president of the Thai Automotive Industry Association, said yesterday.
Many carmakers have urgent plans to make a fast recovery after the flooding is over and to cash in on the high season in the final quarter of the year, said Piengjai, who is also the chief of Nissan Motor (Thailand).
The target for domestic new-car sales is also expected to remain at 950,000 units this year, she said.
According to an industry report for August, sales of vehicles increased by 20.3 per cent over the same month of last year to 79,043 units, of passenger cars by 26.4 per cent to 35,545 and of commercial vehicles by 15.7 per cent to 43,498.
Many carmakers have indicated that they plan to expand assembly capacity to serve rising demand.
Kazuo Karasawa, managing director of Hitachi Asia (Thailand), said Hitachi operated about 40 companies in Thailand, and half of them made car parts or electric appliances.
“I’m quite worried about our manufacturing firm, Hitachi Consumer Products, which has its plant at the Kabinburi Industrial Estate in Prachin Buri, which has been hit by floods.
“However, I have not yet received any information about the flood situation there and impact to the plant,” he said.
The two production facilities of Hitachi Metal and Hitachi Compressor at the Rojana Industrial Estate in Ayutthaya might also be damaged by flooding.
The company cannot reveal the direct impact from flooding to its manufacturing facilities and business in Thailand as it has not yet received any report from the affected companies.
However, the flooding will certainly have an indirect impact, as purchasing power will be diluted.