BMW to expand production in Thailand

BMW to expand production in Thailand

BANGKOK: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (G.BMW), or BMW, plans to expand Thai production to at least 40,000 units a year, from a current 10,000, the Nation reports.

However, the company neither revealed the investment budget nor the timing to achieve that target.

The Thai plant will serve local demand, and export vehicles to other Southeast Asian markets after the Asean Free Trade Area plan is implemented in 2003, to benefit from tariff reductions in the region.

Last year, BMW sold 61,576 vehicles in Asia, of which 11,156 units were sold in Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) markets. Thai sales amounted to 3,200 units.-Dow Jones