Thailand's auto-related businesses, which employ 900,000, are reopening after months of coronavirus shutdowns, promising relief for many laid-off workers. — Reuters pic
But there's a catch: Thailand's shift toward electric vehicles could pummel the local auto industry because it is dominated by hundreds of parts makers, while EVs require just 10 per cent to 20 per cent as many of parts as internal-combustion vehicles. The Bangkok-based company has avoided laying off any of its hundreds of workers by offsetting the drop in orders from automakers with an increase in replacement parts. The company is looking to branch out into making filters for industrial and medical use and is developing a new kind of protective mask.Others moved to packaging and aviation.
Parts makers, which account for some 80 per cent of the country's auto-industry workers, have laid off 20,000, a number that could hit 100,000 by year end, said Manit Promkareekul, president of the Automobile Labour Congress of Thailand.Global sales will rise 6 per cent this year to 2.3 million vehicles before exploding to 45 million by 2030, the International Energy Agency forecasts.
In 2018 Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co received approval for investments worth a combined US$888 million to produce hybrid electric vehicles and batteries. Great Wall would need more support from the government to produce EVs, vice president Steven Wang told Reuters.