Honda exports Thai-made cars

Honda exports Thai-made cars

BANGKOK (AFP): Japan's Honda Motor Co. Ltd. yesterday shipped out its first batch of Thai-manufactured cars to Singapore in a symbolic boost to Thailand's flagging export performance.

Some 120 Honda City cars departed from a port south of Bangkok as Thailand's industry minister Korn Dabarangsi hailed the country's emergence as the "automotive manufacturing capital of Southeast Asia."

The cars were assembled at Honda's four billion baht (US$129 million) factory in Ayutthaya, opened in 1996 and with an annual production capacity of 60,000 units.

The shipments of the Thai-made autos abroad is seen as a key to kickstarting the country's economic recovery, as export growth has slowed dramatically in the past two years.

Korn said the government was committed to keep Thai exports competitive, which was "not something guaranteed by the new exchange rate mechanism."