Thailand approves Mitsubishi, Toyota, Tata Motors eco-car projects

Thailand will give the go-ahead to three eco-car projects, in its effort to environment-friendly.

Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand), Toyota Motors Thailand and India's Tata Motors are the three eco-car projects that will receive approval. They will join Honda, Suzuki Motor and Siam Nissan Automobile, whose eco-car projects have already received government approval.

While it is said that Mitsubishi's eco-car project might cost Baht 4.711 billion and have a production capacity of 107,000 units per year, Toyota will invest Bt4.462 billion for an eco-car plant with an annual capacity of 100,000 units.

Mitsubishi will export 88 per cent of the eco-cars produced to Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan, while Toyota will sell the cars in the domestic and export markets in equal numbers when the plant begins operations in 2012.

Tata Motors expects to spend Bt7.317 billion on a plant to produce 100,000 premium energy-saving cars a year. Fifty-two per cent of them will be exported to Asean and other Asia-Pacific countries, as well as South Africa. It expects to start production in 2010.

Thailand is also promoting other eco-friendly initiatives, as part of which four projects have been kicked off: Global Biodiesel, Prachinburi Glass Industry, Star Petroleum Refining and One-Two-Go Airlines.

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