The Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor is reviewing its investment plan in Thailand, which may prompt the automaker to delay its eco-car project amid the alarming global market slump.

However, Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT) would continue another project, hybrid car production, which is due to begin in the middle of next year, said TMT vice-chairman Ninnart Chirathirapinyo.

”We are reviewing capacity expansion plans and have to set the priority for these projects’ implementation,” Mr Ninnart said yesterday.

”Some projects may be suspended depending on the situation, including eco-car production.

”The hybrid would not be delayed as the model is a response to the current market demand from consumers who prefer fuel-efficient vehicles.”

TMT, Thailand’s biggest carmaker, had planned to invest 4.6 billion baht in the eco-car project to make 100,000 units a year of the small, fuel-efficient cars, half of which would be exported.

The company earlier announced that it would reduce production volume by 20-25% or 40,000 units between December and April next year and cut total 2009 volume from 500,000 to 400,000 units due to weaker demand from abroad.

Mr Ninnart said the global vehicle market was expected to drop from 72 million units this year to 69 million in 2009. The US market alone would see a drop of 16% to 13.5 million units next year.

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Tata Motors (Thailand) is planning to make substantial investments for its eco car project following approval from the Board of Investment (BOI) in April. The company is working with the BOI to finalise the project details.

The government’s eco car policy mandates all manufacturers to meet stringent emission and safety requirements, including the Euro 4 emission norms and crash compliance. Tata Motors is in the process of developing the vehicle to meet these requirements as well as local customers’ preferences.

The company is evaluating land options with several industrial estates as a 500 rai plot will be needed for the construction of the manufacturing facility.

According to the regulations, all manufacturers should start their eco car productions within 66 months of project approval. Tata Motors plans to start production within this timeframe.

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Japanese automakers insist they will move forward with eco-car manufacturing as planned despite their failure to obtain changes in some specifications.

According to an automotive industry source, the Japanese carmakers expressed disappointment that Industry Ministry officials had turned down their requests, but confirmed the project would continue.

“The first eco-cars will be introduced into the market as planned,” he said.

The manufacturers had asked the ministry to relax some of the strict and potentially costly environmental conditions set by the Board of Investment (BoI) when it approved their investment privileges.

“Even though the board approved privileges for the six automakers last year for their eco-car manufacturing projects, some of the firms were lobbying to see if some conditions could be altered,” said the source.

Representatives from Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi discussed their request with Chakramon Phasukvanich, the permanent secretary for the Industry Ministry, last week.

But the source said Mr Chakramon turned them down, saying that the cabinet had already approved the conditions for investment promotion.

The Japanese companies also asked if their eco-cars allocated for export need to abide by BoI requirements.

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Honda and Nissan is the first of eco-cars war in thailand early 2010 that move to joined in small cars market around the world.

Honda is prepare for assemble in ayuthaya plant,this model based on Small Global Platform use as Jazz and City will mounted new 3-cylinder 1.2 litre .Nissan ecocars is the first of sub-B segment of the world will use new engine xh-5 codename is very fuel consumption,based on new A-platform cost competitive

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Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors says it is developing a low-priced car to be sold in China and Thailand as well as in the European market.

The car, expected to be priced at below one million yen ($9,650), would be based on a 660cc platform that is currently used only in Japan, Reuters quoted the company’s President, Osamu Masuko, as saying at the Beijing Auto Show.
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Thailand Wednesday approved granting tax privileges to automobile-makers Mitsubishi, Toyota and Tata to invest a combined 16.6 billion baht (536 million dollars) to produce more than 300,000 eco-cars for the domestic and export markets.

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BoI) Secretary General Sathit Chanchouwakul said the three companies would be ready to begin operations within two to four years.

Volkswagen, which has also submitted a proposal to produce eco-cars in Thailand, was not included among the approvals granted by BoI Wednesday.

The Mitsubishi project promised to invest 4.7 billion baht to produce 107,000 eco-cars in Thailand, 88 per cent for export, while Toyota will invest 4.6 billion baht to make 100,000 units by 2012, 50 per cent for export, and India’s Tata Motor has pledged to invest 7.3 billion baht to make 100,000 units by 2010, of which 52 per cent will be exported.

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 Nissan Motor Co, Japan’s third-largest automaker by sales, plans to produce a 1-liter global strategic vehicle for developing countries in Thailand from 2010, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday, without citing sources.

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Tokyo (dpa) - Japanese automakers have applied to produce environmentally conscious eco-cars in Thailand, The Nikkei reported Friday.

Toyota Motor Corp and Mitsubishi Motors Corp plan to expand production capacity in Thailand and to begin manufacturing about 100,000 units of environmentally-friendly cars every year from 2010.

Toyota intends to invest about 17 billion yen (151.83 million dollars) and make the total of investment about 20 billion yen, Japan’s business daily said.

The Thai government has decided to give tax breaks to automakers that produce eco-cars with 1.3-litre or smaller gasoline engines and fuel efficiency of 20 kilometres per litre.

Honda Motor Co, Suzuki Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co have already received permission for their production plans. They plan to begin manufacturing eco-cars as early as 2010 in Thailand.

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Suzuki Motor Corp., Japan’s second- largest minicar maker, will build a 31.4 billion yen ($282 million) plant in Thailand as the government offers tax breaks to boost production of fuel-efficient cars. The factory, due to begin operations in 2010, will make more than 100,000 cars a year by 2015, Hamamatsu, Japan-based Suzuki said in a statement on its Web site today.

Thailand has won more than $1.1 billion of investment from automakers including Suzuki, Nissan Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co. since it pledged to cut taxes on small cars from 2009. Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy wants to make more fuel-efficient vehicles to limit oil imports and boost exports.

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The Board of Investment (BoI) today will consider eco-car projects proposed by the Japanese automotive giants Suzuki Motors Corporation and Nissan, according to a senior BoI official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Suzuki has proposed spending 9.5 billion baht to build a new plant in Rayong province for eco-cars with completely knocked-down (CKD) kit parts. It will have an annual capacity of 138,000 units and begin operations in 2010.

Nissan would invest 5.5 billion baht through subsidiary Siam Nissan Automobile to build more facilities and equipment for eco-car production at its assembly plant in Samut Prakan, as well as a CKD production unit. The plant, which would open in 2010, would have an annual capacity of 120,000 units.

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