Mitsubishi to open 3rd factory in Thailand

BANGKOK,Dec10(TNA)-Japan-based Mitsubishi Motors Corporation will open its third auto manufacturing plant in Thailand to produce as many as 200,000 eco-cars annually.

Thai Industry Minister Chaiwuti Bannawat presided over a ceremony to lay down the foundation stone of the third Mitsubishi automobile plant at its construction site of Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Company inside the Laemchabang Industrial Estate in Si Racha District of Thailand's Chonburi Province on Thursday (Dec9).

Nobuyuki Murahashi, President of Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co, said that as global demand for eco-cars--which are environmentally-friendly and energy-saving--has kept rising, Mitsubishi has decided to build its third plant in the Laemchabang Industrial Estate to specially produce the eco-cars, as the companies' two other plants in the eastern Thai industrial hub have focused on producing some 20,000 sedans, pick-up passenger vehicles, pick-up trucks and multi-purpose vehicles annually--80 per cent of them for exports. Murahashi revealed that the new Mitsubishi plant will be capable of producing as many as 200,000 eco-cars annually, the highest productivity among eco-car manufacturing facilities.

In response, the Thai industry minister welcomed the Japanese new investment project, saying that his ministry is ready to support Mitsubishi and other auto manufacturers which are interested in joining forces with the Thai government to develop Thailand to become a strong and sustainable production base of electric vehicles in the region.(TNA)