Thai distributor TC Subaru (Thailand) Company Ltd confirmed this week that all new Subaru vehicles sold in the local market will be imported from Japan from next year, with local production scheduled to be discontinued before the end of 2024.
The local assembly plant, located in the Lad Krabang Industrial Estate in Bangkok, is 75%-owned by Malaysia-based Tan Chong International (TCIL) and 25% by Japan’s Subaru Corporation. The two partners have agreed to cease Subaru production at the facility due to falling sales across South-east Asia. Sales of Subaru vehicles in Thailand amounted to just 344 units in the first four months of 2024.
TC Subaru said in a statement “from 2025 Subaru vehicles sold in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, will transition to imports from Japan. This will help speed up the introduction of new products in the region, including the latest Subaru premium models, which will help us strengthen brand-building with increased emphasis on our latest technologies”.
With competition from Chinese brands in the region rising rapidly, TCIL and Subaru Corporation said a decision was made to move their operations to a more sustainable growth trajectory. The two partners acknowledged the need for a more forward-looking approach and adapt more quickly to changes in emerging markets.
TC Subaru confirmed it will continue to provide reliable customer care, after-sales services, spare parts and warranties in the country as it transitions to selling new models imported from Japan.
From next year Subaru will have just one production facility outside Japan, in the USA, after production in Malaysia was also discontinued previously.
