Bangkok – Japanese car factories in Thailand – which, for decades, has been the first hub of automotive manufacturing in Southeast Asia – stops or retreats.
Subaru said she would stop producing cars in her factory this month. Suzuki plans to stop operations by the end of 2025. And Honda and Nissan say they reduce production.
The main culprit: Chinese electric vehicles.
While the world embraces zero emission vehicles, Thailand courts Chinese car manufacturers, which in their quest for global domination spent more than $ 1.4 billion here in last year to build EV factories.
“Japanese car manufacturers are undergoing significant pressure to reduce costs to compete with Chinese brands,” said Larey Yoopensuk, president of the Thailand car workers. “They are now wondering if staying in Thailand is worth it.”
The Thai government – which wants 30% of the cars it produces be electric By 2030 – Consider Chinese investment as a crucial element of the future of its automotive industry, which now represents 800,000 jobs and 10% of the country's GDP.
The paradigm shift has become a source of anxiety for Thai car workers, who have long helped produce Japanese cars And the parts entering it, including exhaust pipes, brakes and doors. Even if the Chinese factories replace those Japanese, Yoopensuk feared that there is no room for him or his colleagues in The new order.
One of the reasons is that Chinese companies in Thailand have historically been intolerant unions.
“Over the past decade, this industry has been booming, unionized workers reaching better living conditions and high income,” said Yoopensuk, who has been working in automotive manufacturing for 35 years. “If it is forced to go out, many workers – especially the oldest – may have trouble finding jobs elsewhere.”
He was also concerned that manufacturers of Chinese electric vehicles would use More automation And favor immigrants from China and Vietnam compared to Thai workers during hiring.
“This is a problem with which we reject, encouraging these companies to also create job opportunities here,” he said.
The foray of China in the Thai automotive industry could announce what will happen in other parts of the world, as adoption EV develops and Chinese brands become global. Last year, Chinese giant Byd, who opened a factory in Thailand this summer, briefly exceeded Tesla in global sales.
“I do not think that there is a real precedent where these manufacturers of Chinese electric vehicles restart the industrial landscape in another country,” said David Williams, expert in labor standards and supply chains in Asia for the International Labor Organization.
Thailand exports a little more than two thirds of the cars it has, with the largest part in Australia followed by Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Its most important market is national and the news has been lamentable. Total sales of passenger cars in Thailand dropped by 23% until September compared to the same period last year. Experts blamed the increase in household debt and the increasingly strict rules to obtain car loans.
Electric cars – Almost all Chinese – was the only positive point, with sales up 11%.
Fuel -powered cars are always more than 90% of all sales in Thailand, but this should fall while the government continues its efforts for electric vehicles with subsidies to buyers and manufacturers.
Byd said its new factory would finally generate around 10,000 jobs and produce 150,000 vehicles per year. When the company was launched in Thailand, its distributor offered strong discounts on several models, which brought the cheapest models below $ 25,000.
Intensified A Prix War who threatens Japanese brands more, who fight to follow cleaner cars on their own.
According to the Thai government, they have undertaken to invest more in the local production of hybrids – which operate on battery engines and internal combustion engines – and electric van. Honda began producing electric vehicles in Thailand last December.
While gas cars fall into disgrace, some automotive parts will be made obsolete, such as hydraulic steering systems and alternators.
Thai car manufacturers Assn. has would have estimated that only a dozen of the more than 600 manufacturers of car parts in Thailand can provide Chinese electric vehicles.
Those who can move to the manufacture of electric cars can still have trouble compete with Chinese rivals. Some suppliers of automotive parts have already closed its projects as companies have contracted.
Supat Ratanasirivilai, director general of Thai Metal Aluminum, which produces aluminum -made parts for Japanese and American cars, said that it has been negotiating with Chinese car manufacturers since the start of the year.
But these talks have stalled since Chinese companies told him that its prices were 30 to 40% too high.
“We hoped that when the production of Japanese car manufacturers has dropped, we could benefit from Chinese car manufacturers,” he said. “But obviously, they do not buy from Thai suppliers.”
His company pushes the Thai government to implement more protective measures for local workers, such as the requirement of electric vehicles to be built with local parts.
“The Thai government really opens up everything for Chinese car manufacturers. It was very difficult for us, “he said. “I don't know what's going to come.”
The special correspondent Poypiti Amatatham in Bangkok contributed to this report.
