The Bangkok Post and just-auto have reported that BMW is constructing a 600 million baht (RM61.4 million) engine plant in Thailand with its local partner, Powertech Engine Assembly. The engine plant will be the carmaker’s first in ASEAN.
BMW director Klaus Draeger told local reporters that the facility is expected to start assembling four-cylinder diesel engines in December, and four-cylinder petrol engines towards the end of 2016.
The Munich-based carmaker already has a vehicle assembly plant in Rayong, where it makes motorcycles as well as the MINI Countryman. An additional nine million euro (RM37.9 million) is planned for investment here to boost capacity to 10,000 cars a year.
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Could have been made here but thanks to our sloppy policies by the federal government….
Tahniah to Dr M the father of Thailand automotive industry! Clap::Clap::Clap::
Dr M dan semua keluarga dia pakai Porsche. Tapi Dr M mintak rakyat Malaysia semua pakai Iriz dan pakai Proton sahaja.
Google Tun Dr M dengan Porsche boleh tengok gambar dia pandu Cayenne
Yup, the plate is MM 1
Yet another blow to Malaysians and a few thousand or maybe tens of thousands jobs are lost because BMW has chosen Thailand.
Malaysians have already suffered so much. For 30 years, 30 million people suffer so much. We struggle paying for our high car prices all because of one man’s dream of benefiting his friends and relatives through the AP system and the government protecting Proton.
Malaysia was on its way to becoming the Detroit of Asia in the 90s. But the AP system cost us hundreds of billions in ringgit in investments from car companies who moved to Thailand and Indonesia. Car companies got fed up with Malaysia’s MITI for protecting Proton and telling other companies what to price their cars. They got sick and tired of the AP system and how genuine brands cannot get enough APs to import their cars in (like Mercedes, BMW and Honda).
They thought that if they set up their brands and plants in Malaysia, they knew they had to share the pool of APs with the cronies and they knew 90% of all APs go to the cronies. They all moved their operations to Thailand making it the AutoCity of the world.
Recently GM announced that they rolled out already 1 million cars from Thailand. Imagine if GM was in Malaysia and we taxed GM RM10,000 per car. Calculate that with 1 million cars. Just from GM alone, we lost Billions in USD. Imagine what will the amount be from other car companies if they had set up in Malaysia?
Because of Mahathir and his AP system, as well as Proton, we lost hundreds of billion of ringgit in investment and trillions of ringgit from jobs lost. If Malaysia was the autocity of Asia, hundreds of thousands of jobs would have been created for Malaysians. We lost all that. Trillions of Ringgit and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Now, Thailand is benefiting from this trillions lost.
So, in summary, the 30 PEKEMA AP members and Proton have solely caused Malaysia to lose trillions in investments.
A word of caution to the idiot Madani from MAI and the idiots in MITI, Malaysia might even lose existing companies who are already CKDing in Malaysia. BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Honda and Toyota might even close up their plants in Malaysia to open up in Thailand.
This is so worrisome. Despite Thailand having an unstable economy with riots and bombing, no stable government, yet car companies still prefer Thailand to Malaysia. Makes us wonder…..what is wrong with Malaysia?
Well said, man!!
Not only a one dream now, but the entire gang in the cabinet and related cronies in the country will benefit. The floating of petrol prices will be obscured to such an extend that only the gangs will benefit. If the general public are rejoicing with the anticipated drop in RON95 prices as a result of world price drop, keep on dreaming. If the country can forgo billions of car FDI to Thailand, what is RON95 to them! By the way, who are the pumps owners, BHP is Tabun Haji, Petron has relationship with CIMB deals with Phillipines gangs etc. The general public is expandable!!
Petron is DR M la! St Miguel.
for RM61.4 million in Thailand, they got full working engine assembly factory.
And probably with low monthly operational expenditure.
for RM61.4 million in Malaysia, could they probably get half of the engine assembly factory?
And most probably with higher monthly operational expenditure.
80s and 90s remind me of a generation where young Malaysians work in factories in flock yet Malaysia still lead the manufacturing in term of cost per skill set.
Now, with the Bangladeshis and Indonesians in our factories, Malaysia is no where near cost efficient manufacturing country. Don’t even bother about the skills.
The taukehs have bloated the cost so much probably.
Hopefully, Malaysia will recover its competitive edge and there’s a still good economy for my children and my grand children.
At the rate we are going, we will never recover our competitive edge.
With education standards at an all time low, decreasing FDI, the constant brain drain, rapidly increasing cost of production, we will be looking at 1 or 2 lost generations.
The machinery would cost the same in Thailand and Malaysia?
Machinery and commissioning would cost more here as there are other high “cost of business” here.
Set up a new business, new small factory ?…. you know what I mean then.
Is Thailand ready ?
the ultimate driving machine…
made in thailand…
saaawwwdeeekkrruuupp….
When my BMW Z5 Quad Turbo 0-100 3 sec Brembo 10 pot brake will be mass production?Everyone is envy when I ride this on the road.
Thailand is more than ready we already had the Buri Ram fast track F1 Thailand’s motor circuit by international standard come and see for yourself if you like fast car on tracks by the way the new Honda HRV is nice and production is fast enough to meet demands will soon be all over Bangkok
Bravo to Thailand . U have defeated us once AGAIN!
Having plant thailand meaning lower or no import tax because of asean trade agreement. Wonder if BMW would lower their price?
The cost of manufacturing is cheaper in Thailand.
That’s the truth.