Tan Chong International Ltd, the authorised importer and distributor of Japanese car maker Subaru, expects Subaru sales will recover next year in keeping with the anticipated recovery of the overall automotive market and improving prospects of the Thai economy.
"I spoke to Japanese car makers at the Nikkei Forum in Bangkok two days ago and most of them feel very confident that their sales in the Thai market will recover in 2015," said the company's executive director Glenn Tan, forecasting domestic sales will recover to more than 1 million vehicles next year.
He said Subaru was expected to sell around 2,500-3,000 units next year compared with an estimated 1,800 this year, a sharp fall from 2,639 cars in 2013.
"Nonetheless, the company has done quite well in Thailand where Subaru sales now rank No.3 out of the nine countries where we operate," said Mr Tan. "This year's performance is also not that bad compared with the meagre 150 units we sold in 2012."
Tan Chong, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, now holds a distribution licence from Japan-based Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) to sell Subaru vehicles not only in Thailand but also Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The company established its Singapore-based Motor Image subsidiary in 1986 to distribute Subaru in the region.
Tan Chong also runs an assembly plant in Malaysia to make 5,000-6,000 units of the sport-utility Subaru XV a year.
Mr Tan added that Tan Chong planned to assemble the Subaru Forester SUV at its Malaysian plant next February, raising its combined production to 8,000-10,000 units a year.
"Subaru's assembly line in Malaysia will focus on serving the Asean market mainly to cash in on the Asean Free Trade Area agreement, exempting import duty among member countries," said Mr Tan. "The imported Subaru XV makes retail prices more competitive and affordable."
Earlier in July, Tan Chong International said it planned to invest US$150 million by 2019 to expand its production in Thailand.
By 2019 Tan Chong aims to raise production at its existing facility at Lat Krabang Industrial Estate to 35,000 units including passenger cars. Through TC Manufacturing and Assembly (Thailand), the company produces 6,000 trucks a year under the Mitsubishi Fuso brand.
Tan Chong took over Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Thailand in late 2009 for a combined investment worth $30 million.
Tan Chong's motor vehicle distribution segment includes all models of Nissan and Subaru passenger cars and Nissan light commercial vehicles. Its heavy commercial vehicle and industrial equipment distribution markets include Nissan forklift trucks in Singapore and Thailand and Mitsubishi Fuso trucks in Thailand.