Chevrolet rolls out first Sonic from Rayong plant
The first locally produced Chevrolet Sonic rolled off the line on July 2 at the manufacturing facility in Rayong, making the Rayong plant the fifth GM facility in the world to build the global sub-compact passenger vehicle.
“The Sonic will be yet another addition to our growing portfolio of exciting products,” said Martin Apfel, President of GM Thailand/Southeast Asia and Chevrolet Sales Thailand.
“We now have highly competitive vehicles taking advantage of our global architectures in every major market segment,” Apfel continued.
According to Apfel, the Sonic demonstrates not just the capability and quality of the Rayong facility and its Thai workforce, but also its flexibility. The facility with 180,000 annual production capacity now has two production lines - – a truck line that produces the Colorado in three body styles and the Trailblazer, and a passenger vehicle line that produces the Captiva, Cruze, Aveo and now the Sonic.
“Each line is capable of producing different models depending on market demand. This includes the production of various body styles and trim levels of each model, in addition to different model configurations, such as left- or right-hand-drive variants,” said Apfel. “It is one of the most flexible operations in the industry.”
Due to the increase in volume and demand for its products, GM is now operating two shifts on the passenger vehicle line while the truck line is now on three shifts. The Sonic’s production has created 500 additional jobs, required to staff the passenger vehicle line’s second shift, taking the Rayong plant’s total headcount to more than 5,200 employees.
“The Sonic is aimed at young, upwardly-mobile urbanites who are highly sociable, fashion-conscious, attention-grabbing and fun-loving,” said Antonio Zara, Vice-President of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, GM Thailand/SEA and Chevrolet Sales Thailand.
