In Thailand, Ford Motor Co. is reportedly planning on investing a cool $900 million on its factories located in the said country. In Philippine currency, that amounts to around Php 45 billion at current exchange rates. A hefty sum, that’s for sure.
This is the same plant that will supply the Philippines with the 2022 Ford Ranger
According to a report by Reuters, the American carmaker is looking to increase the number of assembly robots in its Thai manufacturing plant. A portion of the said investment will also go towards improving its supply chain network.
Of note, Ford’s plant in Thailand is under an entity by the name of AutoAlliance Thailand. This is a joint venture formed back in 1995 by the Ford Motor Company and Mazda Motor Corporation. This plant in particular makes the Ford Ranger and the Ford Everest.
In total, the facility can already produce up to 270,000 vehicles per year. With the additional funding, we can go out and say that the said figure will be increased in the following years.
Also note that 60 percent of that yearly figure is exported to other regions including the Philippines. That said, the update might have a positive impact for the vehicle and parts supply of Ford Philippines.
The investment will increase the plant's robots, but it will also bring in more jobs. It's a win-win for everyone [Photo: mmThailand]
As a side note, other countries that the Ford Thailand plant exports to include Australia and New Zealand, both of which have a large market for pickup trucks.
Beyond the additional manufacturing capability and the improvement of its supply chain, the investment is also said to provide an additional 1,250 jobs in Thailand.
Interestingly enough, this plan by Ford in Asia is in contrast to its recent moves in South America and India. In the former, the marque actually closed three of its factories. In the latter, the brand is slowly pulling out its production capabilities.
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