Encouraging Thai auto industry firms to cooperate under a shared vision would help lead to the development of beneficial industrial clusters and new growth opportunities in the market, according to Sutham Vanichseni, an adviser to the Thailand Automotive Institute.
Speaking to the Bangkok Post, Mr Sutham said building industrial clusters involved joining educational institutions, supply organisations and related industries, and government units together, and offered the strongest opportunity to boost industrial competitiveness.
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He added that even with China’s recent entry to the World Trade Organisation, he believed the strong potential offered by Thailand and Asean would prevent any substantial shift in investment and production facilities northward.
Mr Sutham, who is helping draft a master development plan for the auto industry, said an ideal plan would involve the joint participation of all industry players to analyse the competitiveness of various parts of the value chain as well as market opportunities abroad.
Mr Sutham told the newpaper that the lifting of local content rules by the last government had helped lead to increased investment in the auto industry. At the same time, local firms were pressed to upgrade their operations to global standards and one weakness for the Thai auto industry was the relatively low amount spent on R&D.
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