Honda to end production at one of its Thailand auto plants
- The company’s sales in Thailand have been under 100,000 for each of last four years as Chinese EV makers make inroads in Southeast Asia
Japanese carmaker Honda Motor will halt vehicle production at its factory in Ayutthaya province in Thailand by 2025 as it plans to consolidate its output in the plant it runs in Prachinburi province, the company said on Tuesday.
Honda has seen combined production at the two plants fall from 228,000 vehicles in 2019 to less than 150,000 a year for each of the four years through 2023. The company’s sales in Thailand have been under 100,000 for each of the four years through last year.
The company plans to produce car parts at the Ayutthaya plant, which was first opened in 1996, when it stops making vehicles there next year, a company spokesperson said. It will consolidate vehicle production at the Prachinburi plant, which was opened in 2016, according to the spokesperson. The factories are the only two plants the carmaker has in Thailand.
Honda hopes to close the gap between vehicle production and sales it has seen in Thailand, according to the spokesperson.
The carmaker already exports from Thailand, mainly to other Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines, the spokesperson said. Honda has no current plans to make new investments in Thailand, the spokesperson added.
