Vroom eyes expansion, local plant

Vroom eyes expansion, local plant

Vroom Thailand, importer and distributor of Indian and European motorcycle brands, plans to expand its business by setting up a local factory to produce them here by 2023.

Mr Varot debuts big bikes from Indian brands Bajaj and KTM yesterday.

"The company is conducting a feasibility study on local manufacture to serve growing demand in Thailand and Asean," Vroom chief operating officer Varot Kamolchotiros said yesterday.

It plans to make Thailand its headquarters in the region.

Though the pandemic has severely affected car and motorcycle markets, Mr Varot is optimistic the impact will be only temporary after the government has managed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

"We are confident both markets will gradually recover," he said.

During the first five months of 2020, only 600,000 motorcycles were sold in Thailand, down 18% from 740,000 year-on-year, said Vroom chief executive Hideki Yanagisawa.

However, he expects better market sentiment in the second half this year, with full-year sales at 1.4 to 1.5 million units.

Echoing Mr Varot's optimism, Mr Yanagisawa believes the motorcycle industry in Thailand will soon rebound from its low because the country has proven it can successfully deal with Covid-19, preventing it from causing further impact to society.

Mr Varot did not say which types of motorcycles his company plans to produce, but the company sees potential growth in big bike sales here because prospective buyers are usually in the middle and high-end markets, thus able to afford these models.

According to Mr Yanagisawa, big bike sales are expected to reach just below 10,000 units this year, compared with between 10,000 and 15,000 units sold annually before pandemic.

Vroom debuted big bikes from Indian brands Bajaj and KTM yesterday. It expects to sell up to 3,000 units this year and 6,000 next year.

Bajaj motorcycles are produced by Bajaj Auto Ltd, which is based in Pune, Maharashtra.

Vroom is seeking a new opportunity in Thailand by planning a 400-million-baht investment to build Bajaj Design Centre in Bangkok, which will emphasise design and innovations of its products, by 2023.

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