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.
The company is confident in the government’s flood prevention project and vowed not to relocate its production base from Thailand, he said.
Honda also sets up a fund to help Thailand fight disasters. The fund will be deducted from sales: 1,000 baht from each auto unit, 100 baht from each motorcycle sold and ten baht from each multipurpose engine sold. The proceeds will go towards helping victims of disasters in the future.
Meanwhile, Mr Pitak Pruittisarikorn, Executive Vice President, Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd. said that orders of 60,000 cars needed to be delivered to waiting customers after production was halted by flooding at its factory, adding that eco cars are in high demand.
To meet the demand, more than 6,400 workers resumed work proceeding about 1,000 cars per day, while it expects its production to fully return to normal within the next three months.