Ford Motor said on Wednesday it would invest $900 million to modernise its factories in Thailand that make its Ranger utility truck and Everest sport utility vehicle (SUV), in what would be its largest commitment to the Southeast Asian country.
The investment would be through its own manufacturing plant and AutoAlliance Thailand, its joint venture with Japan’s Mazda, Ford said in a statement.
Thailand is Asia’s fourth-largest auto assembly and export hub, featuring some of the world’s largest carmakers such as Toyota and Honda. The industry accounts for about 10% of Thailand’s gross domestic product and manufacturing jobs.
The expansion would add about 1,250 new jobs and about $400 million of the investment would go towards its supply chain network, Ford said.
Global Output and Export Base
The programme bolsters Thailand’s role as a global production and export base, the company said. “This is an important milestone to build on our quarter-century of commitment to producing vehicles in Thailand,” Yukontorn Wisadkosin, president of Ford’s ASEAN and Asia-Pacific distributors’ markets, said.
As Thailand’s vehicle production looks towards more electrification, state-owned energy firm PTT this year said it would invest at least $1 billion on an EV plant with Taiwan’s Foxconn.
In September, Ford announced an $11.4 billion investment in EV production in the US, promising to build its biggest ever factory in Tennessee, and two battery parks in Kentucky. It would also create 11,000 jobs.
The Ford announcement in Thailand also follows an October move to invest £230 million ($304 million) in a transmission factory in England to upgrade it to make parts for EVs.
• George Russell
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