The automotive industry has seen massive growth worldwide during recent years, due to factors such as the development of electric cars in response to climate change considerations, and growing numbers of people who desire autonomous transport. South-East Asian countries such as Thailand and Malaysia display particular growth, as they have both large markets to sell to and important manufacturing hubs which produce vital car parts for companies all over the world.

Thailand is the major production hub in the region, and as such is both an important market and an important producer. Automotive parts and entire cars that are produced there can be exported all over South-East Asia, and to the world in general. More than half a million people in Thailand are employed in the automotive industry in some capacity, and in 2015 1.9 million cars were produced in the country (with 1.2 million of those being sold abroad, and the rest domestically). As green automotive becomes ever more important in accordance with local laws, the production hubs based in Thailand will need to shift their focus to accommodate this, and the Thai government is eager to assist them in this.

This growth has been difficult to achieve, however. Following suspended production due to lockdowns in 2020, the restarting of production in many South-East Asian factories was slow. Between April and May 2020 in Thailand there was a 130% growth on the number of vehicles manufactured, but even this larger figure still represented almost a 70% drop on the previous year. Nonetheless, as the country has opened up in response to falling cases, the increase in production of car parts in Thailand has been large, and continues to grow.

Source: www.aseanup.com