Thailand
SE Asia car industries take on Japan
In Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, local companies have entered the automobile market in succession.
They are attempting to take on the challenge of competing with Japanese carmakers, who dominate the regional market, by promoting their domestic brands.
The governments of these countries are also heightening efforts to support the development of their own auto industries, with electric vehicles (EVs) as the key focus.
Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup completed an automobile factory in June to produce Vietnam’s first auto brand.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at the opening ceremony that the success of the project would have a special meaning for Vietnamese industry. He stressed that the government would always support companies that take on challenges.
In September 2017, Vingroup – which is known for its wide-ranging businesses including real estate, retail, and information and communications technology – announced it intended to enter the automobile industry.
In less than two years, Vingroup created new cars by adopting technologies of companies such as General Motors and BMW through business cooperation.
The company said it has already received more than 10,000 sales orders.
While the market size for cars remains at about 300,000 units per year in Vietnam, the new car plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of 250,000 units.
Vingroup plans to increase this number to 500,000 units in the future, in anticipation of the expansion of the market in keeping with economic development.
EV development is gaining momentum in Southeast Asian nations, as such vehicles require fewer parts and the barriers to market entry are lower compared to engine-powered vehicles.
In Thailand, electricity generating company Energy Absolute PCL unveiled in March a minivan made in Thailand, from design and development through to parts procurement. The company, which has yet to start selling the minivan, said the car is part of a national EV concept.
The state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand also plans to remodel used cars into EVs for commercial sales, according to a local paper.
In the Philippines, local companies are turning public transportation methods such as tricycles and jeepneys into EVs.
In Malaysia, which already has two national car manufacturers, the government is promoting a new national car concept for the EV age.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in a speech on July 1 that the future of automobiles was moving toward EVs.
New-car sales in Asean, excluding Cambodia and Laos, increased 6.6 per cent from the previous year to a record 3.56 million units last year. The figure has already reached nearly 70 per cent of the number in the Japanese market, which has sales of about 5.2 million units.
The Asean number is expected to exceed four million units by the end of next year.
Japanese carmakers currently have an overwhelming 80 per cent share of the Southeast Asian market. Southeast Asian domestic brand cars will likely intensify their competition with Japanese automakers over the growing market. THE YOMIURI
SHIMBUN (JAPAN)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK