14 Aug 69

Point out, if EV cars are manufactured from abroad or imported batteries and key parts, just "assemble" the nut-drop glue-weld wires, what does Thailand get?

On Aug 12, 69, Deputy President of Toyota Motor Thailand Limited (TMT) posted via private Facebook his concern for the Thai auto industry, while Indonesia announced a welcome home opening with support for investment in all dimensions if Toyota moved its manufacturing base to Indonesia.

"Because I currently have two duties.

The first duty is "Japanese company employees," which in less than 10 years is out of duty. 🤣

The second duty, "Thai," is an inexhaustible duty, so I should have to serve Thai for longer than the first duty, unless very lucky less than 10 years from now. 😅

Today, therefore, let's share the view as "Thai."

The news in Indonesia says that if Toyota moves its production base, he's ready for everything.

From this news, what Indonesia is telling us is

"Ai is seriously coming to compete with U, Thailand."

And Thailand should listen to this sound well

Because what he's doing is trying to pull investment to increase the country's competitiveness.

Thailand has built an automotive industry for less than 60 years.

We have Supplier, People, Factory, Logistics, Engineering and Export Markets to become Automotive Ecosystem that is not built in days, days or years.

But will the advantage we have today be the advantage in the next 10 or 20 years?

Even more, we are now in a major industrial transition where the public sector is pushing for "EV."

Let's go out and look at the world.

* China EV grew very fast, but as the market grew bigger, growth began to slow, and competition became so fierce that more than half of the manufacturers disappeared from the market.

* Europe EV is also growing from both Environmental Policy and Regulation.

* America is about 10% EV, and customers are starting to return to paying more attention to Hybrid.

What we learn from the world is

There is no single technology that suits all countries.

Each market is finding a Technology Mix that suits itself.

Which is actually the Multi-Pathway concept that Toyota has been saying for a long time.

Back in Thailand, I think we need to ask ourselves, are we promoting the EV industry?

Because these two are totally different.

Today, EV cars are sold in Thailand more because they are cheap, they are cheap, of course, "beneficial to consumers," as many people say.

But if those cars are made from abroad,

Or import batteries and key parts, just "assemble," tighten nuts, drop glue, weld wires.

What will Thailand gain from this transition?

Automotive Industry doesn't just have one car, it's both Ecosystem. Are these Ecosystems growing with EV sales today?

And there are many problems that may not be seen today.

Battery expired, where? How to get rid of? Who is responsible?

Second-hand EV In 5-10 years, when battery technology changes, how much will the car have Residual Value? Hit the second-hand market and customers?

How ready is Charging Infrastructure?

If the EV increases dramatically, is the electrical system ready?

And can we really reduce our dependence on imported energy? Because today natural gas is still imported to generate electricity.

This doesn't mean EV is bad.

But these problems, we have to prepare, not wait for the "cows to disappear, and then encircle the stables," because if we wait for the day the cows disappear, the buffalo may not be here. 😅

So what Thailand does is not try to save the past.

But it must be answered: "What is the reason why investors want to choose Thailand in the future?"

And of course, the answer is not just the incentive "to collect expensive ICE taxes to support the EV so puzzled that we lost Suzuki and got Neta.

All you need to do is select and promote sincere investors who will build ecosystems, build competitiveness through technology transfer, infrastructure development, workforce development, and integrated supply chain.

And most importantly,

"Ensure that national policies have a clear and continuous direction" because investors are not afraid of change but afraid of uncertainty.

I still believe that the ability of Thai people is second to none in the world.

I still want to see Thailand as a country that

"Produce the car of the future, develop the technology of the future, create jobs and export them around the world as the key machine that drives the economy."

And I'm sure that if we do that, whether the future be BEV, HEV, PHEV, Bio-Fuel, Fuel-Cell, Hydrogen or whatever technology, Thailand will be a sustainable automotive hub for the region.

Love Thailand "