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Last January, Ford canceled plans to invest as much as $1b in factories in Thailand. FoMoCo reckoned it couldn't make their money pay off given the currency controls imposed by Thailand's new military-backed government. Bloomberg reports they've reconsidered. The Blue Oval Boyz will team-up with Mazda and shell-out $500m (each) to set-up a joint factory (so to speak) in the former Siamese Kingdom. Ford and Mazda already have shared facilities in China and a pickup truck factory in Thailand. The new venture is looking to export the Mazda2 and/or other products to other countries in the region: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They'd better; Ford says the Thai plant will be able to crank-out 275k units per year.
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they shut down the ford ranger plant here-stupid move i thought-all they had to do was build the thai version of the ranger here and i bet it would have been profitable-i would have bought a diesel ranger–awesome fuel mileage in a truck that will carry 4 adults.
Just another move to place more production in low cost nations in order to try to maximize profits.
When will these companies start thinking outside the box?
How is it that Toyota, Honda, Subaru, et al, can make a profit on vehicles built and sold in the US?
Maybe the profit lies in having political prisoners “employed” in the supply chain.
How is it that Toyota, Honda, Subaru, et al, can make a profit on vehicles built and sold in the US?
They have efficient auto-business models that cut out waste and constantly evolve. They think ahead!
Can someone explain to me again how buying Ford products help the domestic economy because the profits and reinvestment go back into the US economy? Ford & GM are putting the vast majority of their investment dollars to work in Asia, not in the US. Buy American indeed.
One of the biggest reasons to build plants in other countries you sell to is to eliminate a lot of your transportation costs and tariffs. Reminds of that fud email about Heinz building plants overseas – they built the plants there because it made more economic sense to do it for that market (not to mention keeping fresh product on the shelf). The stuff wasn’t being exported back into the US.
Most of the models that Honda and Toyota build in the US are their biggest sellers here.
Then there’s the chicken tax on imported trucks. Only way around that right now is to build them here.
Isn’t Ford just taking a page from Chevy’s book here? IIRC the design of the Colorado also originates from Siam. Is there something about Thailand that makes it a particularly good place to build trucks? Maybe cheap labor combined with a relatively stable government and/or economic growth? Not sure but it’s interesting that both the Colorado and now the Ranger have a Thailand connection.
Also interesting the way small trucks are going 360 degrees: The first small trucks sold by Ford and Chevy were rebadged Mazdas and Isuzus, respectively. Eventually, Mazda and Isuzu sold rebadged US-made trucks as their own, and now the circle has completely turned back and it seems like once again Detroit will be outsourcing their small trucks.
Honda has built cars in Thailand for quite a while for sale in Australia and Asia. The quality is as good as their Japanese made vehicles so Thailand seems like a logical place for Ford and Mazda to also built vehicles for that market.
Since these vehicles are for the Australasian market only, there really is no need to get concerned. And let’s face it, the Mazda2 was never going to be built with UAW labor.
Wait… how does this new plant have anything to do with the U.S. production? The production from this new plant will serve the APAC region – not the U.S.
If this plant produces products efficiently, however, it will benefit the U.S. because that money comes back in the form of profits for Ford (which is a U.S. company with most of its infrastructure still here, including their highest paid employees).
How do Toyota and Honda produce cars here more efficiently? No UAW. It sounds stupid and simply like placing blame, but it is true. Non-unionized workforces don’t get pensions and retiree health care or have inane work rules and can be hired and fired at will.
There is still no final decisions on Ford’s next compact truck production location. It is very possible it will be done in the U.S., Brazil or Mexico. It is unlikely they would ship from Thailand.
Martin Albright:
Is there something about Thailand that makes it a particularly good place to build trucks?
Thailand is the world’s second-largest pickup truck market after the US. They don’t build ’em as big there, but they build almost as many for domestic sales and export to the APAC region.
How do Toyota and Honda produce cars here more efficiently? No UAW. It sounds stupid and simply like placing blame, but it is true. Non-unionized workforces don’t get pensions and retiree health care or have inane work rules and can be hired and fired at will.
Robert, I believe the Toyota Tacoma is America’s best selling midsize truck (or compact, whatever they are calling them these days) and it is made at the UAW NUMMI plant in California.
Nice Ranger.