TAPA 2014 Will Rev Up the Industry’s Drive for World Class Green Automobile Production

BANG NA, Thailand - Aug. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- The Thailand Automotive Institute (TAI), one of the joint organisers of the “Thailand Auto Parts & Accessories 2014” has expressed confidence that the upcoming TAPA 2014 event will definitely propel Thai automotive industry’s development in line with the Automotive Industry Master Plan and drive Thailand to become a world-class production base of green automobile.

 Director of the Thailand Automotive Institute's Business Development Department, Dr. Atthawit Techawiboonwong, disclosed:  “In comparison with other ASEAN countries, Thailand holds a high card as the country is widely recognized for the complete automobile production supply chain. This helps control our production cost and make prices of our products very competitive. Thailand’s automotive industry is well acclaimed for its high performance, high quality products, good management, and a better disciplined labour force. Furthermore, Thailand also boasts the highest production capacity in ASEAN, with statistics indicating that the country produced as many as 2.75 million vehicles in the year 2012 alone. Furthermore, we still hold top rank as the world's No.1 producer of 1-ton pickup trucks.”

 

He continued: “For the first half of 2013, Thailand has reportedly, though  unofficially, moved up to the position of  the ninth biggest automobile producer in the world, which is in line with the TAI's Automotive Industry Master Plan.”

 

According to the Automotive Industry Master Plan which is a five-year plan spanning  2012-2016,  Thailand is revving up to become a world-class production base of green automobile. “We have implemented the main strategy with focus on 3 centres of excellence and 2 environments of competitiveness. In term of technological excellence, we have invested heavily in the Research & Development of alternative energy such as biofuels, Ethanol and others.  We also focus on lightweight vehicles, using alloy instead of iron, new paint, tyres, new laser-welding technology, all directly addressing the energy efficiency, as the energy consumption usually increases in proportion with the vehicle's weight.

 

The second strategy is described as the development of human resources by upgrading skills of the labour force to answer the increasing demand and the gradual expansion of production plants. The third strategy is the enhancement of competitiveness among entrepreneurs, with main objectives of expanding production capacity, reducing production cost, and effectively improving the supply chain as a whole.

 

Director of the TAI's Business Development Department also added that, in addition to the centres of excellence, the atmospheres that promote competitiveness is equally important. One  concerns basic infrastructures like a complete and well integrated automobile testing centre, the one like  the institute now operating  and offering several testing services, e.g. industrial standard, pollution, braking system, and tyres. The institute has also initiated the Automotive Intelligence Unit where all information related to the automotive industry is kept, including statistics, data and information on registered entrepreneurs, and knowledge on various related technologies. Another environment deemed important for the development of the industry is the supporting policy from the government, such as, investment promotion policy, excise tax measures, including tax reduction of eco-car users, and of cars driven on E20 or E85 fuels.

 

Dr. Atthawit expressed confidence that the grand event of TAPA 2014, which will take place from April 28 to May 1 of next year, at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre at Bangna (BITEC-Bangna), will bring greater opportunities for the Thai automotive entrepreneurs and Thai automotive industry. Furthermore,
it will propel the country's policies on the designated track as constituted by the Automotive Industry Master Plan, and eventually reach the excellence in both ASEAN and on the world stages.