Auto Makers invited to establish Thailand as regional production hub

BANGKOK, June 5 (TNA) -- Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak invited auto makers to take advantage of the facilities within the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) to set up production facilities to push Thailand to become the regional hub for automobile production. In his address at the event on Monday to celebrate the 5 millionth unit produced by Mitsubishi Motors in Thailand in 2018, Mr Somkid stated that the EEC project was launched for this purpose and is an important stepping stone to direct the country towards the government's Thailand 4.0 masterplan. The Deputy Prime Minister invited auto makers to join in to set up plants within the EEC a production base for electric vehicles which is vital for global environmental protection. Mr Somkid also thanked Mitsubishi Motors for setting up a regional production and a world class R&D facility second only to Japan in Thailand for its automobiles. Mitsubishi's efforts, the Deputy PM, said has moved the country one step closer to establishing itself as the regional production and leading R&D hub for automobiles. Mr Somkid confirmed that the government was committed to local development of electric vehicles and in support of this, has just approved a move to base automotive tax rates on exhaust emissions. Following the Deputy PM's address Mr Morikazu Chokki, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Thailand stated that they had targeted 5 million production units by 2018 which they have now achieved. Of these 3.7 million are exported to 120 countries worldwide. He says that at present, 6,650 Mitsubishi employees produce 420,000 units every year and the company fully supported the government's Thailand 4.0 masterplan and will be committing investments to setup electric vehicle production facilities in the EEC. (TNA)