Auto Industry Update 2021

On April 23, to over 50 members, the Automotive Council presented Industry Update 2021. AMCHAM Board Governor David Nardone introduced the speaker, Arnupab Tadpitakkul of Ford Motor Company Thailand, who gave an in-depth presentation on trends and issues within Thailand’s auto industry. Arnupab also serves as Vice Present of the Thai Automotive Industry Association and Vice Chair of the Automotive Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries.  

Arnupab provided the automotive updates on the Thai Auto Industry Data from January through February. He gave an overview of vehicle of automotive production over the past year. He noted the drop in production due to the spread of the Covid-19, government lockdown, and overseas production. When compared to 2020, 2021 production values for automotive look to be increasing slightly. Overall production has shown a decline in domestic and export production. A takeaway from the information was that a government mandated lockdown affects consumer spending and slows economic activities.  

He continued his presentation by discussing Thailand’s goal to adopt zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Arnupab commented on the concerns associated with this vision, including the potential exclusion of internal combustion engines allowed to register by then. “I think this really rocked this industry to the core,” stated Arnupab. The announcement has had a ripple effect across the industry as companies prepare for the upcoming change. He spoke on immediate measures that included standardization of new vehicle components, promotion of vehicles, and government procurement.  

The speaker ended his presentation discussing the Thailand Development Research Institute’s presentation and policy options to address Pm2.5-related issues in the transport and automotive standards. The event then opened for a frank discussion among members on the call. They discussed the roadmaps on how to achieve zero emission vehicles and thoughts on declining demand for internal combustion engines. A recording and the presentation’s slides are available on the AMCHAM Member Portal.