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