General Motors is looking to boost its share of the Thai automobile market to as much as 10 per cent in five years from 2.9 per cent now. GM also plans to increase its market share in Asean very sharply to 10 per cent with new products in the Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian markets.
"Our performance in Asean especially has been very inconsistent. What we lacked was the con¬stancy of purpose. We've been in and out, and we're set to change all of that," Tim Lee, president of GM International operations, said yesterday.
"We now have new engine facilities that are being constructed in Thailand and we're also look¬ing at reopening one of our plants in Bekasi, near Jakarta," said Lee, who oversees more than 80 countries in the AsiaPacific region, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
Lee was in Thailand to meet with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to discuss possible plans of the company.
By selling only the Chevrolet brand in Asean, GM has only a 1.9percent share in the whole region. The focus is now on bringing in products from GM's global portfolio that would match the diverse needs of Asean, where each market dif¬fers significantly.
The plant that GM plans to open in Bekasi has infrastructure problems. The company is negoti¬ating with the Bekasi district administration for a guarantee of power, drinking water and larger roads to facilitate logistics. GM has set a deadline of three months for the negotiations.
The plant has been shut for five years. GM plans to invest US$150 million (Bt4.7 billion) to get it started again so it can run on three shifts and produce up to 50,000 units annually, some for export. The company is considering making B and C segment multipurpose vehicles at the Indonesian plant.
Many products for the Indonesian market, however, will continue to be imported from Thailand. GM is also looking at introducing the nextgeneration Chevrolet Colorado pickup in Indonesia.
In Malaysia, Naza, which is responsible for dis¬tributing Chevrolet vehicles, and GM will study the viability of setting up a plant in the country. The companies exchanged letters of intent for the feasibility study in June and expect it to be done in six months.
It is not known whether both Naza and GM will have a stake in the plant or how much it will cost. It is understood that the vehicles produced there will be for the local and export markets.
As for the Thai market, GM plans to introduce the Aveo CNG, which can run on compressed nat¬ural gas or petrol, this year and launch the Chevrolet Cruze, which will replace the Optra, in November. GM will also offer a more powerful and E20capable petrol engine for the Captiva sportutility vehicle.
"The Asean market is growing and we want to be a strong contender in it," Lee said. "There is room for us to grow as the market grows and as we increase our market share. We'll be very care¬fully monitoring our inventory and ensure that we don't overproduce. We've learned from our past mistakes."
Since Thailand is an export base, it is impor¬tant to watch the currency closely. A stronger baht will make exports suffer. The solution to this is to produce for local markets locally with as much local content as possible, Lee said.