The Thailand Automotive Institute plans roadshows to invite foreign parts manufacturers to use Thailand as a production base in an attempt to reduce parts imports by 80% within five years, says director Wallop Tiasiri.
''Instead of focusing on bringing new investors to set up auto companies in Thailand, the approach will be on bringing in auto-parts manufacturers that supply parts to existing companies,'' said Mr Wallop.
The roadshows will focus on Japan, the United States and Germany which already supply parts to automakers in Thailand.
''Currently almost every automaker is already in Thailand, and we believe that in the future we will be able to increase the production of cars, especially eco-cars that have been widely accepted by customers. In the initial stage we have an aim to reduce imports of auto-parts by up to 80% or 400 billion baht within five years,'' he said.
Thailand currently imports 200 billion baht worth of auto parts each year, and the figure could increase to 500 billion by 2014.
Mr Wallop said he was optimistic about the future of Thailand's automotive industry. If political problems subside, automakers might revise their production target this year from 1.4 million units to 1.6 million, consisting of an increase of exports from 800,000 to 950,000 units and domestic sales from 600,000 to 650,000 units, he said.
While total production capacity is currently 2 million units, Mr Wallop said that production fell slightly in April and May to between 120,000 and 130,000 units per month compared with 150,000 in March, partly because of anti-government protests and violence.
''But after things have subsided it should take another month or two for adjustment to take place, and starting from August onward, automakers will be able to increase production capacity to 160,000 or 170,000 units a month,'' he said.
Arthit Wuthikaro, director-general of the Industrial Promotion Department, said the elimination of almost all import tariffs under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) this year had played a large role in the development of the local automotive industry.
Although a large number of parts makers still consider Afta as an obstacle, the government sees it as an opportunity for Thai businesses, as automakers are interested in using Thailand as a centre for production in Asean, said Mr Arthit.
Thailand is currently the world's 14th largest automobile producer. The industry is the country's second largest by export value behind electrical and electronic goods.
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