BMW doubles sales in Asia

BMW doubles sales in Asia

BANGKOK: German automaker BMW - Bayerische Motoren Werke AG -
expects to double its sales in Asia in the next five years after
the expansion of its operations in Thailand, a company executive
told a press conference Monday.

The company said it will invest 600 million baht (US$14.5
million) to expand its Thai unit into an export hub for the
Southeast Asia region.

Along with the expansion, BMW Manufacturing (Thailand) Co.
Ltd. will start making the sedan BMW 7-series, to be ready for
sale in January, BMW board member Norbert Reithofer said.

The Thai plant is already producing the 3-series, a smaller
sedan.

The new investment will boost the output of the Thai plant to
about 6,000 vehicles a year, from its current 3,500 to 4,000
units.

Most of those cars will be for export within the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, the company said. ASEAN comprises
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Dow Jones/AP