Mercedes-Benz has begun local production of plug-in hybrid-batteries in Thailand with the opening of its new battery plant, which is located at the company’s vehicle manufacturing plant in Samut Prakan.
The new facility, which sits on a 50,000 square metre site and has a 100-strong workforce, was announced last year when the automaker – together with local partners Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant (TAAP) and Thonburi Energy Storage Systems (TESM) – said it was investing over 100 million euros (RM483 million) in expanding production operations in the country.
Output will serve localised needs in the production of the automaker’s plug-in hybrids, of which the C- and E-Class versions are in particular demand, but the plant will be able to make batteries for full electric vehicles in the future, according to a previous report. While no mention of production capacity was made, a figure of 5,000 units was indicated previously, and this can easily be doubled according to demand.
The new facility is the latest addition to the company’s global battery production network, which already has plants running in Kamenz, Germany, with Beijing also going online this year. With new plants in the United States, Poland and Germany set to begin operations at the beginning of the next decade, the network will eventually consist of nine factories at seven locations on three continents.
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Cheap hybrid battery, Benz hybrids value go up ..
Foreign companies prefer Thai CEOs to run their car companies because they can make money. They don’t want our local GLC CEOs because most of the GLCs in Malaysia is losing money. Look at TH, need RM10.3 bil bailout just to survive, an example
Car companies from Germany, Europe or Jepunis always get Chairman and MD for their Principals in other countries who got expertise in the car industry.
They do not want someone from PNB, Felda, Khazanah to be the Chairman of their companies in other countries as they have no relevant experience.
Most kakitangan kerajaan and got ZERO experience in car making
Our local mgmt eg. Drb dont need expertise in the car industry. We can hire consultants …
Investors like a country with minimum corruption. This is why they choose Thailand.
Minimum corruption in thai? Lol these newbie cyber troopers are so dumb
Hey don’t look down on them la, they were paid as high as RM5k per person you know. That is way beyond urban-poors.
With the level of zombiac trolling they do here? I would say they are just paid peanuts. The only reasons they can’t find better jobs is because they are lazy and PH feeds into their insecurities to face the outside world, thinking they are failures.
Graduates from Uitm, Mara and JPA are unbale to meet the high standards of Mercedes Benz AG. Thailand does
They they unbale, perhaps they can unjoker or unpenguin to meet the high standards of unbatman.
I go for AGM, I see during press conference, the Chairman cannot even answer any questions. Yet, his gaji is 6 figure per month.
Bravo Malaysia. No wonder car companies want to go to Tom Yam land
I used to work in thailand and Thai people work 1000x harder than Malaysians. Especially comparing people up north. This is why Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu and Perlis never have investments
I worked with people in East Coast states and they are 1000x more hardworking and more critically 1000x more honest and down to earth than most I met across the border. To them, money is not important as they only need sufficient enough to live with. They aren’t forced to sell their land for investment and they live continue to comfortably.
While Tesla already making full EV battery through their gigafactory and Mercedes just started PHEV. Value for future you talking? PHEV is going doomed, depending on when.
Past 20 years, all investments either go to Thailand or Penang alone. Goes to show where good governance is.
Thailand people work 7 days a week. In Malaysia we only work 4 days a week. Friday, Saturday and Sunday nobody works
thai pipu work hard during work time. They never sleep, look for awek during work hours. Work is work.
Malaysia is not competitive anymore because any approval in Malaysia need to give duit kopi across many channels. For example, to build factory in Thailand cost US$1 billion, to build the same factory in Malaysia cost US$3 billion
3X more.
Even BMW and Tesla chose Thailand to make their batteries.
How come they don’t want to invest in Malaysia? Answer is very easy. Mat Salleh don’t want to give 30% of their company away FREE. They want 100% ownership.
And they want their own people as the Chairman
This is the whole truth. This is why people want to go other countries to invest. Why get a chairman who has no experience in car or battery business and probably the Chairman of Felda before?
Why cannot do it in Pekan?
Because our PM nanti marah.
They prefer Thailand or Vietnam because the people are more hardworking. Their rakyat are all equal and they all work equally hard.
Vietnam was so backward before. But now, they have surpassed Malaysia by over 20 years. This is because the Vietnamese people do not believe in relying on Government help all the time
Is this an out of season April Fool’s joke?
Pekan workers always want quick get to rich method. They don’t know how to start from scratch. Just graduate only want to become manager and datuk. Always want quick way to get wealth and fame.
Thai workers know how to start from scratch.
Pekan workers were the first ones in the world entrusted to CKD S-Class. If you don’t know how to start from scratch doing your research don’t just slander others.
For MB, a military government effectively in Thailand is much more investment-friendly and stable than our democratically elected government, which says a lot.
The majority in Malaysia cannot see this. Even South Korea was behind us in the 90s. Now, they are already light years ahead. In Asia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have overtaken us by light years.
Meanwhile our 100 useless ministers & PM still dreaming of unviable flying car-pet drones.
The main issue in Malaysia is, we are not investment friendly towards automotive industry and investors don’t like when you dictate to them who their local partners should be and then to give a way 30% not to mention a lot of outside interference that will follow afterwards.
Thailand had many protest’s and coups’ but their policies on automotive industry did not change, no matter who was running the county and this kind of attitude and commitment that attract investors. To be honest, I think no car company will invest in Malaysia anymore. Thailand has the right policy in place, infrastructures and initiative to push forward consistently; not like here, always back and forth and then some idiot will come up with some silly ideas and policy which chase the investor away.
No foreign company wants to get an ex Government servant to be their chairman and buta buta get RM100,000 per month with no work done. All they do is come once a year for AGM to eat mee hoon goreng and buta buta they get RM100k per month.
The main reason of picking Thailand over Malaysia is labour. We are too reliant on foreign labour unlike our neighbours where man power is abundance. It’s a turn off for manufacturers to setup shop in Malaysia when they need to take into account of hiring foreign workers. Malaysia is just neither here nor there. No clear cut direction from our ruling government. Neighbouring countries are all getting ahead while we engage on reverse gear. Just want to vent out my disappointment with PH.
PH?
Thailand also has big migrant workers from its neighbouring countries (Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar). It’s a big issue which forced them to set a new law limiting foreign labour cap at 20%.
They still have enough local workforce for them to viably set a 20% cap. What about us? We cannot provide sufficient labour because our population is much lower and so many MNCs go to other countries with much larger work force.
Someone will later come and call you ‘john’
Vietnam overtook us more than 10 years ago. So did Thailand and Indonesia.
So I doubt it is the ruling Government now. Just that previous policies did not hold any water.
Nope, u got it all wrong.
If u r saying its abt labor then all other giants in electronic field should not come and setup here.
Big company does not care who is their worker. As long as they can make more money at one country, no reason for them to open shop at another country.
We have the manpower and our cost is still low while still having quality. Its just that the current policy is not automotive sector friendly.
preparing for 3rd national la… its all about national national… if our national cant catch up with the Euro 6abcd standard wonder whether our boleh land can nurture the 3rd national in such a tiny market with consist of (P1,P2 & others).
National car already failed so badly but still ego is still there and cannot let go.
So shameful. We dont have the expertise. 20 years Mitsubishi transferred technology to us but we could not understand
Yet we are so arrogant and cannot admit failure
In Malaysia, only 14% of the total workforce is paying income tax. This is the main problem. Just the 14% is subsidising the 86% of the population.
Majority living on the income tax of the few, this becomes the problem in Malaysia. In Thailand, most people who work pay income tax
Guess what? When BN implemented GST for the 86% to pay taxes as well, PH took it up and bashed the Government back then until they lost in GE14. How to change this? Easy. Just bring back BN and reimplement GST again.
Most foreign companies are told to give 30% of their share capital free to “Malaysians” and follow our employment quota system. Foreign companies do not practice such employment practices
Such rules have been abolished since Najib became PM, but with Madey back in the seat we can expect them to re-implement these rules again. Really regret voting for PH now.
We need to abolish any affirmative policy to move forwards.
Affirmative policy is not the problem, go see how well Petronas did.
Meredes Benz hire staff based SOLELY on CVs. Nothing else. No cables, no strings and no affirmative policy.
Our local grads are not up to par, so this is why they prefer Thailand, easier to get manpower
What to do? Our ministers and politicians so busy playing politics, so syoik sendiri, or so tin-kosong kepala, that the economy of the nation is all forgotten and neglected.
Blame guan eng. Morning angkat sumpah afternoon show Buku hutang to the world.
Who is going to come to invest ?
why gip FREE job to the Chairman who always sleeping? Gaji buta!!!
Awang, u r just looking at one industry which is automotive. There are lots of other industry and they too shifted from one continent to another. Electronic industry favors Malaysia not coz out labor is cheap. Its coz of certain policy which assist in reducing cost and above all, we still have quality. Unfortunately if all industry enjoy the same privilage then the country does not have income.
One thing for sure, a country just could not get it all.
Once we make all rakyat equal in status, more investments will pour into Malaysia
Past 20 years we lost a lot of investments because of the unnecessary bumi policy
Just like Proton, always got tuang kerja. Local workers king of MC. One year can MC like 30 days.
Thai workers max MC also 2 or 3 days a year.
I even heard existing companies that CKD in Malaysia also want to close down and open in Thailand.
Soon our Honda, Toyota and BMW will be CBU in Thailand.
They are fed up with red tape in Malaysia and Government appointed Directors for car companies owned by Japan and Jerman
PH gomen putting up redtapes everywhere so they can undertable more, and this also helps to force rakyat in supporting National Flying Car No. 3. Hip hip hooray for PH gomen!
Meanwhile in malaysia.. Needless to say..