日産汽車在泰國開設新工場

A few weeks ago the NHK News on-line reported the following:

日産がタイに新工場を建設

7月3日 22時58分

大手自動車メーカーの日産自動車は、東南アジアでの生産体制を強化するため、タイに新たな工場を建設し、３日、開所式が行われました。

日産自動車の新たな工場は、首都バンコクに隣接するサムットプラカーン県に日本円でおよそ１１０億円で建設され、３日、日産やタイ政府の関係者、およそ１００人が出席して開所式が行われました。
この工場は、日産としてはタイで２か所目の生産拠点で、主にタイや東南アジア向けにピックアップトラックを中心に、年間で最大１５万台を生産する計画です。
これにより、現地での生産能力は年間３７万台となります。
日本の自動車メーカーにとって、タイは主要な市場ですが、自動車購入の際にかかる税の軽減措置が打ち切られたことに加えて、長引く政情不安による消費の冷え込みで、ことし５月の新車の販売が前の年の同じ時期より３割余り落ち込むなど低迷が続いていて、日本メーカーの間では減産の動きが広がっています。
日産自動車の片桐隆夫副社長は「タイの市場の中長期的なポテンシャルが非常に高いことには疑う余地がない。部品の供給体制が整っているなど、産業基盤はしっかりしているので、これを活用して市場に攻めていきたい」と話しています。

(試譯文)

Nissan Motor, a major automaker, in order to strengthen its production system in Southeast Asia, built a new factory in Thailand and the opening ceremony was held on the 3^rd (July).

The new factory of Nissan Motor was built for about 11 billion yen in Japanese yen in the Samutprakarn prefecture contiguous to the capital Bangkok. About 100 people related to Nissan and the Thailand government were present, and the opening ceremony was held on the 3rd.

This factory was the 2nd production base in Thailand for Nissan, and was scheduled to produce 150,000 cars every year at the maximum centering mainly on pickups truck for Thailand and Southeast Asia. 

Thereby, the production capacity of this spot would be 370,000 cars every year.

Although Thailand was a major market for Japanese automakers, the tax reducing measures in the case of automobile purchase were ceased; in addition, in order to cool consumer spending due to the prolonged unstable political situation, the sales of new car in May this year fell a little more than 30 percent from the same time of the previous year, and the downturn in sale was continuing. A movement to decrease production had spread among Japanese makers.

Nissan Motor Vice-President Takao Katagiri said that "there is no room to suspect the very high mid- and long-term potential of the market in Thailand. I want to get ready the organization in parts supply etc. and to make solid the industrial infrastructure in order to use it to conquest the market".

It seems that Japanese investors are confidence in investing in Thailand.