On 11 January 2006 , Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra outlined the direction of the Thai economy in 2006 to the members of the private sector in order to provide a clear picture of the Thai economy, so that they would become more confident in making decisions on their businesses. He said that economic reform that was planned in 2005 would be implemented this year. The Government will promote the industries that contribute to the domestic economy and Thai exports. Industrial diversification will be given a major boost to create wealth in the regions of the country. Prime Minister Thaksin was confident that the Thai economy in 2006 will grow by at least 5%.
For automotive industry, the government has still emphasized on “clear consistent and continuous international car policy” by providing healthy business environment which are developed basic infrastructure , quality labor force , and strengthened upstream industries / supporting industries , such as mould & dies.
Nowadays, both government agencies and private sector set their goal of being automotive production base in Asia or “Detroit of Asia”. It means Thailand will become one of the top ten largest automotive producers in the world in 2010. To reach the challenging target in the next five years, the Thai automotive industry must ;
- produce no less than 1.8 million automobiles per year
- export no less than 800,000 automobiles per year
- export auto-parts at minimum value of 400,000 million baht per year
