Ford is setting up new operations to boost its presence in the Asia Pacific region with the construction of a “state-of-the-art passenger vehicle manufacturing” in Rayong, Thailand. Costing around 450 million dollars, the site is expected to be completed in 2012.
The factory will initially churn out 150,000 units a year, 15 percent of which will be for local Thai market while the balance will be used for Asia Pacific and African region exports. The 750,000 sq metre assembly plant is also expected to create 11,000 new jobs for the local economy, which is made out of 2,200 directly employed by Ford while the rest will be of suppliers and dealer networks.
Ford will also be spending almost $800 million on local components through Thailand’s supplier network for production at the new plant.
This new plant will be a flexible facility producing a range of vehicles and fully integrated to support body assembly, paint, trim and final assembly. The next-generation Ford Focus (shown above) is expected to be the first model to roll off the production line in 2012. The Malaysian Focus currently comes from the Philippines.
Ford currently produces Ford Fiestas and Mazda 2s for the Malaysian market at their AutoAlliance Thailand plant which is a JV with Mazda. This factory also supplies Fiestas to the ASEAN region, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Our Nation’s Automotive Policy is driving away foreign investments , sigh….
When will proton / perodua will roll out a decent car … safety equipments are still optional…
Malaysia missed the boat.. by opening a new plant, it will create new job opportunities.. it will create business for parts suppliers too..
Some says protection of P1 will create better jobs opp here?..have P1 created more job opp compared to if all those foreign investment at asia’s detroit not been turn away by our policy? anybody, pls enlighten me….or whom interest they actually trying to protect at all cost…hmmm?
Then what will happen to their Philipine plant?
According to Ford they are currently studying new product programs for the Ford plant in the Philippines.
They closed their plant at Shah Alam last few years.. and now open at Rayong.
Emm.. that means Ford looking Thailand as more competitive location compare to Malaysia.. may be our NAP policy is not good enough.
ermm..its ok,,i still going to by proton,,because it cheap and economic for malaysian at this moment,,,unless there is any changes in automotic tax structure… i dont want to pay too much tax for gov….
you can start by earning less money so that you pay less tax.
well, perhaps, you are not making much anyway.
Ford cannot build the factory in malaysia because it is not a high end product :-)….. we only want mercedes, bmw, ferrari, porsche, bentley etc…
no proton still day dreaming of going to bed with vw
y choose thailand…..malaysia not attractive ah?
ladyboys in thailand r more attractive than mak nyah in malaysia
malaysia is not no good, it just the stupid G is damn stupid with their NAP. If not, we could have lots of variety & good cars around better than P1 & P2
because malaysians mostly all only talk but no skill and then want high pay! those got skill all immigrated to other country leow!
I slightly doubt about your words here. Can you give a statistic to support your argument? Other wise, I will consider you are part of your sentence “only talk but no skill”..
Whoa, Thailand really the oriental Detroit of USA.
See? Who wants to do business in MY now? With current red tapes and political rubbish, everyone is moving to TH. Sigh.
wow…by the way I’m looking for MK1 focus 1.8….any suggestion..??
its cheap, buy it.
11,000 new jobs !!!!
It will be good if they can set up a plant in MY!
even the chaos in thailand they still choose thailand over us….malaysia = ?
i wonder why ford chose thailand over malaysia even tho the chaos of democracy just ended in bangkok? I can only think of this. Mncs are aware of how much they have to spend on the ‘sidelines’ to get rid of red tapes. Better social openness in malaysia as ford exces aint hanging out a mamaks after work. Our govt never did enuff to attract ford to invest. Too busy with trying to benefit from legalising sports betting. Winning opposition states. Lose sight of economic fundamentals. Go proton the able provider of the country. Thanks to malaysian govt for allowing thailand to received that huge rm1.2 billion investment. Kudos to thailand!! Fantastic job in garnering such huge fdis. Sawadeekap!
1. The thailand market for cars may not be as big as Malaysia’s car market, but collectively, ASEAN car market is way bigger than Malaysia. Even Singapore sold more or less the same amount of new cars every year when compared with malaysia.
2. If they set up a factory in Malaysia, knowing very well that Malaysia will not honor the afta agreement, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philipines might retaliate by not allowing any cars made in Malaysia to enter their market or impose a higher tax for breaking the agreement. It is safer to be in Thailand.
3. The political unrest – just politics. Life goes on, factory still running. It is not a union strike or workers strike demanding higher pay and so on, no worries.
perhaps i should skip the fiesta and wait for ford focus!!!!
yea!!!!
ah, i’m gonna skip the fiesta and wait for focus instead!!!
thai car!!
Naza brought in the Focus RS. Go test drive…. nice one.
and its cost RM300k…
Another one bites the dust! Our great country does not need foreign investors. Our great Proton must be kept alive. Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota can all go fly kite ( or neighbouring countries loh).
So we can all continue to pay great money for ermm … our cars!? Inflated prices serves a purpose; to generate funds for mega buildings and BUY MORE ARMS. Yes, those Singaporeans are dangerous. So are the Thais, invading us with their products (cheap cars for Asean), and leaving us economically behind.
They must be dealt with swiftly, with our Scorpene semi-submarines. Just wait till we get engines for our Air Force jets, we’ll show them.
In the meantime, lets wait & see what glorious nation building (literally), our Gov will be planning for. More bridges, Istanas, parliaments, stadiums to be rebuilt etc etc.
There are Toyota, Honda plant in Thailand…..ISUZU dmax truck also in Thailand….There’s also a JV with Mazda and Ford in Thailand…
Basically because of too much GOVT protection of national products….It makes no sense for foreign investors to come in and invest….
Thailand also has better QC than our Malaysia…If Malaysia wants to do well, we have to start from the bottom line like QC onwards…We need to improve….Else, Thailand will be the favorite and most preferred destination for Auto car companies in ASEAN…..
with the tidak apa attitude of our worker, they deserve to be at the bottom of the food chain.
hahahahahaha, be poor and suffering!
and their leaders are eating like nobody business
Peter, it is too late for Malaysia..sad..very sad indeed..no more car makers to come and invest in Malaysia..out of stock..This is what the loyal tax payers received, in return of pain and poorer suffered by us.
The Thai’s workforce will be more skilled for both white and blue collar workers.
More exposure to international standards, better learning curve and gain more experience.
The Thai’s are gaining momentum in turning to a knowledge society.
A slap in the face for our government and the National Automotive Policy
ford shud hav setup up the thai plant long ago. it was a mistake when they ckd in malaysia sometime ago…which caused ford to loose its popularity.
The RM 1 billion investment should have been ours. Shame on you Proton.
Nope,
shame on the Malaysian government.
Proton is just one of their money making pawns, along with Naza and the rest of the AP kings.
Admit it, most Thai are lower income ppl and any such industrial move within the country will make their own ppl fulfilling the job vacancies, how about Malaysia? Will Malaysian be 100% satisfying the vacancies or these manufacturers gonna import ‘foreign workers’ here?
Industries already moving away from Malaysia, to other places like China and Vietnam about a decade ago. Ppl here are ‘behaving’ we’re ‘higher class’.. but the fact is, are we?
We only have ourselves to ‘blame’… nothing to be ‘more than usual proud’ on local made products, yet making all other foreign industries uncompetitive. It’s an evil cycle on already uncompetitive economy.
hey, we are higher class, we are rich, we even got prince of land.
67% is the prince of land, and the rest are outsider.
even tho outsider pay more tax and make more money, they are still outsider.
Prince of land are suffering in poverty, serves them right.
guys, cut the bashing, remember voter get voter scheme. your future is in your hands
fact is, they don’t mind losing such opportunities because it enriches people other than the cronies.
anyway, i hope this helps reduce price of ford vehicles in the future and shorten the waiting period. i also hope it means ford is very serious about this region and thus will increase their presence in malaysia.
Another phenomenon that shows Malaysia is losing foreign investment. Sigh..
where coup and car can thrive side by side! fiesta… foh eva… all nite long, all nite…
Kudos to the Thai economic strategy.
I’ve read of both arguments comparing the Malaysian vs Korean automotive policies and what I’ve concluded is that we Malaysians lack the political and business will to emulate the Korean successes. If we’d been practical and bold as the Korean, our Proton and other local brands would’ve done much better than they’ve done so far.
So, for all the hypes and glory about these local auto brands, they’re just a board game for the politicians, nothing more than just to fleece the Malaysian people.
So bloody true.
Not only do we lack the political & business will but add in the shoik sendiri jaguh kampung racial supremacy mentality.
Cronies First, Corruption Now is out true slogan
go see what kind of workers in our car production plant, from honda to mercedes to P1 P2, you can see what kind of worker there, go find out.
and the Korean reached the 2nd round of the WC too….
Yes, we can emulate Korean, but think about it again and again… Korean banned imported cars previously (for about 20 years!). I believe everyone here would be against that idea, but that’s how Hyundai & Kia can sell 500,000 cars annually & achieved economy of scale. Even now, only 2-3% of cars in Korea are imported.
I believe even if Proton did produce quality cars like Hyundai, people here would still choose Honda & Toyota.
True… true. However the Koreans are proud to buy korean cars. Are you proud driving P1 or P2? Furthermore their customer service are spot on, any warranty repairs are dealt with on the spot no questions ask and without any hassle. Have you tried to claim warranty from P1 or P2?
Despite Thai’s political situation, MNC still favors them.
We have to thank TDM for that.
Now we will face more taxes
Less subsidies
And even less FDIs.
TQ TDM.
DSN, pls do something. Protecting Proton is fine, but pls not so overtly.
It’s not our fault the damn Yanks don’t know geography well enough to see Malaysia is in the CENTER of ASEAN.
Also, blame the stewpit Thais for having investor friendly policies and for having a skilled workforce. Spoil market…..
If there is a will, there will be a way.
Malaysia is getting less popular for labour intensive production……..cost factor and cannot find workers.
Just look at China, workers just go on strike just like that.
A sign of recovery of auto market industry in ASEAN, could have prompted Ford to have huge investment in Thai (a truly Asian Detroit). And despite the unrest with Thai Govt and protesters did not deter Ford decisions ether. With the current wages hikes by auto workers in Honda and Toyota plant and its labor strike in China may cause automaker decision to look for alternative countries for expansion. I believe these a signs of turmoils (if for real) benefits Msian get these investor back here…
Not likely. At most, MNCs in China will move low-value production lines to emerging countries like Vietnam. If not, they will just move further into China where it’s cheaper.
Ford invest in Thai. VW invest in Indonesia. Every potential “foreign direct investment” (FDI) is avoiding Malaysia. Kudos to the government, NAP policy and over-pampering policy on Proton. Thank you very much!
M&A’s and changes has made the big boys in the automotive industry stronger and on a better footing. Yet its sad to see our very own P1 not capitalising on this opportunity. In fact its MITI that is also dragging its feet. Major changes in India/China + Thailand seen with Suzuki/VW and now Ford establishing themselves in these countries.Because when the economy recovers, these countries will be the first off the blocks. It is sad to hear of so much FIC going to other countries and we have yet to hear of anything coming to Msia. Come on MITI if you fail to capitalise on this then Tg Malim and your numerous assembly plants will only be a white elephant. What a waste !!
it’s a big loss…although Thailand was in turmoil with protesters..riots…but still they bring in more investment…wow…kudos to them..
Good to see Ford making a comeback after their 80’s success here. The TX3’s / Laser were the good old days. The current range of Ford engines look good and would give the VW TSI’s a run for the money though we have yet to experience it in Malaysia – only relying on write ups. Bravo Ford and I’m hopong that we get to enjoy more affordable / efficient engines in the near future.
Thank you NAP.
“The Malaysian Focus currently comes from the Philippines for the petrol model and Thailand for the Focus TDCi.”
No, both current gen Petrol and TDCi diesel Focus models come from the Ford plant in the Philippines.
The only Focus that will be coming from Thailand is the next generation 2012 Focus.
Current gen Focus TDCi in Malaysia comes from Thailand.
Really? When did they start manufacturing the current Mk2 Focus in Thailand?
check in google la, keep asking for wat
I’ve just managed to get clarification from Ford – you are correct, both Focus are indeed made in Philippines. Not sure why we were informed of Thailand when the car was first given to us to try out.
With the FDI for manufacturing of cars continue to invest in thailand, we will be left with the two P for a long long time. Can the two P come out with real quality cars, matching technology and safety features (at least 4 star NCAP ratings) of the world’s manufacturers? So far, none of the two P have come out with a 4 star rating on NCAP. Given the special protection within the NAP, surely it is high time the two P come out with good built, advance technology and safety features for us. I am sure the locals wan to support local industries, but where are the features? Two airbags is still not adequate, some have ABS… but can more be done. Safety features should be included as standard, not optional items. Our lives are precious too, and there is no amount of money can be determined on one’s life. We wan to support local, but bring in the necessary safety features and built quality, then the world will see the value to the car. Use your current resources to make it work, you can if you really put your heart and soul into it. Come out with a good car that can beat rivals from the north, and you will see a decent move towards local cars. Of course, with better built and safety features, we dun expect you to sell in the same price bracket as current models. A justifiable increase is expected, but remember… built quality and safety features.
its not P2 cannot come out with Perodua altis, but the whole environment is wrong.
UMW toyota wont let P2 do that. and Proton cannot let P2 eat into his market, so, there is a lot of problems here, dont moaning, 2 choices only
-make more money
-voter get voter scheme, thats all.
Our two P remind me of Lada’s cars during the communist protected mkt of the Soviet Union days….
why do you see all this issues in Proton only, are you biased? Toyota also provide safety features as optional, take a look on Vios for example. safety features are ‘standard’ in mid to high-end models only such as altis, camry, accord.. and of course in all BMW and Merc.
NCAP only test cars which are sold in Europe.. Proton has never export Exora to europe but they have tested Exora in Applus+ IDIADA facility in Spain… and the test is equivalent to NCAP, and they scored 4 stars rating.
hi mofaz, mind sharing the info from Spain where Exora did the test? would be interesting to see how the test result comes by
just ask google and you’ll find the answer.
even videos are available on youtube for quite sometime now.
hahahahah….padan muka to the Malaysia Govt for their flip flop policy. PAdan muka for losing out to Thailand. hahahah….
Padan muka to the malaysian who blindly supported proton. Proton, the big burden, overgrown “baby” still want protection, still want support from Govt, still wanting sale /import tax “manipulation” to remain price competitive among other brands…..
This is just the begining. The next wave, I think proton may begining to plan for its tutup kedai….
Even if I ride kapchai, I am happy that I dont own a proton…..a failure to the nation. Shame among the shame…
Please, teach me if I have said anything wrong, okeh?
Thailand has more than twice Malaysia population, means there’s more labour who need jobs. Malaysia gov is aiming for RM1000 minimum salary in few years. But in Thailand the minimum pay is RM500, which is below poverty line. Do you think you can get 11,000 workers here for RM500 salary? If you pay the same amount here, only Indonesian and Bangladeshi would do the job. We have more than 1mil foreigners now, would you want more? Gov could give them various incentives, but the manufacturers would still find that they need to spend a lot more money to operate in Malaysia.
In theory, Indonesia has better offering in term of labour & workforce, but most investors do not invest heavily in Indonesia due to riots, terrorists, and natural disasters.
Is it true cost of living (not to be confused with standard of living) in TH is lower than MY?
yes, cost of living there is lower than Malaysia, so why would Ford and other manufacturers build a plant in more expensive place and pay more salary?
Low wages are only one of the determining factors to consider
when it comes to foreign investments.
The main factor is how the Govt packages their incentives and
of course taxation.
If they are unattractive and seems biased then its – sayonara !!
This is what happened when P1 wanted 51% if VW come to M’sia.
are you crazy??? no one would live with 500rm/5000baht a month.. even security get around 8000baht/month and in car factory like this, they tend to pay higher than average sweat shop factories pay, so ur conclusion is all wrong and cost of living here is not that cheap.. one meal of rice and drink is around 50 baht
minimum wage in thai is between 150-190 baht/day, depending on location or district. average is around 5000 baht permonth. well, even in proton, their minimum salary is RM600. to get more, they have to do overtime. that’s similar in thai. factories in thai tend to take contract workers or ‘flexi workers’. they can easily laid off whenever financial crisis happens.
i found some interesting info about toyota in japan:
* Low wage temps: a full one-third, or 10,000 Toyota assembly line workers, are low wage temp and subcontract workers who earn less than 60 percent of what full time workers do. Temps have few rights and are hired under contracts as short as four months.
* Overworked to death: Mr Kenichi Uchino died of overwork at Toyota’s Prius plant when he was just 30. He was routinely working 14-hour shifts and putting in anywhere from 107 to 155 hours of overtime a month—at least 61 ½ hours of which were unpaid. Toyota said the hours were “voluntary” and therefore not paid. Mr. Uchino left behind his young wife, a one-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter. The Japanese people even have a word for being overworked to death: “karoshi.” An estimated 200 to 300 workers a year suffer serious illness, depression and death due to overwork.
* Sweatshops and human trafficking: Toyota’s parts supply chain is riddled with sweatshop abuse, including the human trafficking of tens of thousands of foreign guest workers—mostly from China and Vietnam—to Japan, where they are stripped of their passports and forced to work grueling hours seven days a week, often earning less than half the legal minimum wage. Sixteen-hour shifts, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight are common.
well, maybe you should read the full report here:
The Toyota You Don’t Know – http://www.nlcnet.org/reports?id=0007
I’m sorry, forgot to include about the ‘cost of living’ issue…
Cost of living is not determined by the cost of a meal. It also involved rental, transportations, price of foods & groceries, utilities tariff, and a lot more.
Thai has lower water & electricity tariff than Malaysia, but rice produced in Thai is pricey. Depending on quality, rice produced in Thai could cost twice as much than Malaysian rice.
Education level determines the major industries of a nation would work for in the country.