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With labor day approaching quickly – here are 2 statistics on the Thailand Automotive Labour Situation. Unemployment is nearly non-existent in Thailand (index mundi / World Bank estimate is 1% since 2005). With the planned growth from 2M to 3M vehicles Thailand faces a serious shortage of workers, the effect of which is worsened by a high volatility. In the current market there are hundreds and thousands of new jobs available and many of the best trained employees decide to change their employer 'for a few dollars more'. The Automotive Industry in Thailand is challenged to develop more workers, implement additional training programs and deploy automation systems in order to meet production & quality goals over the next years.

Tata Motors will delay selling the Nano in Thailand until after the first-time car buyer programme expires, said an industry source. The introduction of the Nano _ by some estimates the world's cheapest car _ was previously set for early this year but was postponed in light of the influx of eco-cars being offered by Japanese carmakers in Thailand. The first-time car buyer programme, which rebates taxes paid by first-time buyers purchasing certain types of automobiles, further weakened the competitive position of the Nano. Read full story here at Bangkok Post.

Strong local demand for Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 pickup trucks has prompted Ford and Mazda to expand their AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT) joint-venture plant in Rayong. The companies have jointly invested another US$27 million (837 million baht) in the plant to increase pickup capacity by another 20,000 units a year. The sum is in addition to the $350 million they spent last year to expand the plant to accommodate new pickup production. Full story here at Bangkok Post.

The new Mirage, Mitsubishi's global compact car built in Thailand, will be shipped to Japan in July this year. Export volume, however, has not yet confirmed. Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) also aims to export the Mirage to Asean, Europe and other markets successively. The Mirage will be inspected by Japanese experts from MMC before shipments begin to Japan and other markets to ensure quality is on par with that of models built in Japan. Full story here at Bangkok Post .

Collect them all! All info graphics on Thai Automotive statistics are now available on Pinterest

Five months after the disruption from severe floods that hit Thailand in October, automotive production is gaining strength, hitting a record monthly output of 190,936 units in March. "The production output is likely to hit a new record in the second half of this year once Honda's production can return to normal. We're confident that total auto production this year will reach 2.1 million units," said Surapong Paisittanapong, spokesman of the Automotive Industry Club under the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI). Click here to read the full story.

BANGKOK, April 1 – Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd targets manufacturing 240,000 units this year after its plant in Ayutthaya resumed output on Saturday. Hiroshi Kobayashi, president & CEO of Asian Honda Motor said that in the past three months, Honda mobilised its workers to revive the factory in the Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya, which was hit by last year’s devastating flood. The plant resumed operations officially on March 31, planning to manufacture 240,000 units in the remaining nine months of this year with 150,000 units to be sold domestically and the rest for exports.