Ducati Motor (Thailand), a leading maker of big bikes, plans to boost its production capacity.
Francesco Milicia, managing director of the Italian parent firm, said the plan has been in the works since 2010, when Ducati's first big-bike assembly line started up with a 20-million-euro (823 million baht) development budget.
Thailand is home to the only Ducati production site outside of Bologna, Italy. The company makes 5,000 motorcycles a year at Rayong's Amata City Industrial Estate.
For the second phase, plans call for ramping up assembly to 20,000 motorcycles after hiring hundreds of additional employees.
Half the new output will be exported, mostly to Asean members and European countries, and half will supply the domestic market.
Ducati Motor Holding SpA chose Thailand as its production base due to the country's comprehensive supply chain and the good pace of automotive technology development.
"Once Asean becomes a single, 603-million-population market, the economy here will rise a lot, which will lead to a bigger market for us," Mr Malicia said.
Mr Malicia said even though Thailand had seen its share of political strife, the parent company remained confident in the country's long-term economics and strong supply-chain development for the automotive industry.
Industry Minister Chakramon Phasukvanich said Ducati's expansion would strengthen Thailand's position as a production hub for all types of vehicles.
"Thailand is the centre for big bikes in Asean," he said. "BMW, Triumph, Kawasaki and Suzuki have come here to produce their 500cc motorcycles.
"For instance, BMW makes 100 motorcycles a year here and Triumph 60,000. Thailand is the only Asean member where these companies operate plants."