The government is urging auto-makers to take advantage of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) facilities to set up production bases in its effort to make Thailand the regional hub for automobile production.
The call for automobile investors to invest in EEC was made by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak at the ceremony held by Mitsubishi Motors to celebrate the production of its 5 millionth unit in Thailand
Somkid stated that the EEC project was launched for this very purpose and is an important stepping stone to direct the country towards the government’s Thailand 4.0 Masterplan.
He invited all auto-makers to join with the government to set up within the EEC a production base for futuristic electric vehicles which is a key element for global environmental conservation.
Somkid confirmed that the government was committed to local development of electric vehicles and in support of this, has just approved a move to base automotive tax rates on exhaust emissions.
He personally thanked Mitsubishi Motors which has officially been in the country for 57 years for setting up a regional production and a world class R&D facility second only to Japan in Thailand for its automobiles.
He said Mitsubishi’s efforts has moved the country one step closer to establishing itself as the regional production and leading R&D hub for automobiles.
President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Thailand Mr Morikazu Chokki, meanwhile, said that the company had targeted 5 million production units by 2018 which it has now achieved.
He also reiterated Mitsubishi’s leadership as the first car maker to successfully produce and market the first commercial electric vehicle, saying if everything goes as planned, Thailand will begin seeing such vehicles on its roads within the next 2 -3 years.
But he also wanted the government to support the setting up of charging points and other electric vehicle service centers throughout the country.
He said plug-In hybrid electric vehicles or PHEV will emerge first as being a combination of a gasoline engine backed up with electric motors will be ideal Thai households with four members.
Once this is done EVs or fully electric vehicles will be produced thereby establishing Thailand as the regional production hub for electric vehicles, he added.
Source: Thai News Agency http://www.tnamcot.com/view/5b153724e3f8e4f60085b9b6
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