Ford Motor Co remains committed to its eco-car investment plan despite bearish prospects for the domestic market.
Although the exact time frame of production is to be determined, the company will stick to its long-term plan for Thailand, said Yukontorn Wisadkosin, managing director of Ford Thailand.
US-based Ford is one of 10 car makers that applied for the second phase of the state's eco-car scheme, marking a combined investment of 139 billion baht.
Ford's application for the eco-car scheme won approval last October.
The company will spend 18.2 billion baht to make eco-friendly cars at Ford Thailand Manufacturing, a complex in Rayong province with an annual production capacity for 180,000 vehicles and 2,000 engines.
Ms Yukontorn expects a sluggish domestic car market with overall sales of 850,000 to 880,000 vehicles.
Domestic sales last year fell by 33.7% to 881,832 vehicles.
January car sales stood at 59,721 vehicles, down 12.8% year-on-year.
Ms Yukontorn said the recovery of Thailand's car market would depend largely on the government's budget disbursement.
Last year, Ford reported Thai sales of 38,087 vehicles, down by 25.6%. Its market share, however, rose to 4.3% from 3.8% in 2013.
In January, Ford sold 1,979 vehicles, down 35.3%, registering a 3.3% market share.
More than 80% of Ford's sales come from pickup trucks.
"It is too soon to predict Ford's sales this year, but the company aims to maintain its market share on a par with that of last year," Ms Yukontorn said.
According to Ipsos Business Consulting, Thailand's automotive industry failed to show any positive signs of recovery at the start of 2015.
An optimistic scenario would see full-year automotive production in Thailand reach 2.07 million units, up 10% from 2014.
One of the key factors slowing domestic demand in Thailand is the high level of household debt.
Ipsos expects household debt to continue to grow over the next three years and reach 89% of GDP.
This level of indebtedness is the result of low interest rates and easy access to loans from mainstream commercial banks, exacerbated by illegal loans and a culture of borrowing in Thailand, Ipsos said.
The consultancy said the eco-car segment would continue to make a positive contribution towards growth in the automotive sector, with players such as Mazda carrying out plans to exploit the emerging market.
Taking a wider perspective on the Asean automotive industry, Ipsos retains a positive outlook.
The biggest car maker in the region, Toyota Motor, is committed to Asean and predicts strong expansion after the Asean Economic Community comes into force, especially in the Mekong region.