Bangkok--1 Feb--Aziam Burson-Marsteller
Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd. today announced that production at its Ayutthaya assembly plant is scheduled to resume by the end of March 2012, with the delivery of new cars from the plant to customers starting in April, 2012. Until production resumes, the company will import Honda Jazz and Accord models from Japan for local sales under the Office of Industrial Economics’ special import guidelines.
According to Mr. Pitak Pruittisarikorn, Executive Vice President, Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd., “The year 2011 was challenging for Honda, as we had to deal with two major natural disasters that affected our operations; the tsunami in Japan in March and the flooding in Thailand during the second half of the year. In October 2011, we had to temporarily suspended production at our facilities in Rojana Industrial Park, which inevitably impacted unit sales. Honda has put the utmost effort into restoring our operation. We have now reached the point where we have finished repairing and installing production equipment and are now running thorough system checks.”
The production of parts for export to Honda's plants in other ASEAN countries will also resume. Honda expects that these plants, which suspended production due to a shortage of parts caused by the flooding situation in Thailand, will start normal operations in April.
Following the recent announcement by the Office of Industrial Economics about tax exemptions for imported automobiles, the company has imported Honda Jazz and Accord models from Japan to replaced units that could not be produced while the Ayutthaya assembly plant is closed. These vehicles will be delivered to customers starting by the end of February.
“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our customers for their morale support and trust in Honda brand. I believe that we emerged from the flooding crisis as an even stronger company that strives to develop and deliver the highest-quality products to meet customer expectations and reinforce their trust in Honda automobiles,” added Mr. Pitak.
The company also reported on the progress of its program to scrap the 1,055 cars that were damaged by the flood. The program, which kicked off on December 27, 2011, is on schedule to be completed by February 25, 2012. The scrapping of automobiles into bundles will finish on February 9, while the scrapping of damaged parts will be wrapped up on February 25. The Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) of all 1,055 damaged cars are publically available on Honda’s web site at www.honda.co.th to reassure customers that none of the vehicles affected by the flood have been sold.
About Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
The Honda Automobile Plant, under the management of Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd., is located in the Rojana Industrial Park, No. 49, Moo 9, Thanu Sub-district, Uthai District, Ayutthaya Province. It has 7,074 employees with a total production capacity of 240,000 units per year. The Honda Automobile Plant is a major production base for Honda Asia and Oceania, producing five Honda automobile models including the Brio, Jazz, City, Civic, Accord and CR-V, for the domestic market and export to more than 30 countries worldwide.
Photo
Photo 1: The Honda Automobile plant in Rojana Industrial Park is scheduled to resume operation by the end of March 2012
Photo 2: The installation of new equipment at the welding unit in Honda Automobile plant
Photo 3: An engineer runs a power test for an injection machine at Honda Automobile plant