Japanese carmakers commit further investment
Board of Investment (BOI) Secretary-General Narit Therdsteerasukdi said 3 Japanese carmakers had announced further investment in Thailand.
Mitsubishi Motors has outlined a THB16-billion investment plan over the next 5 years to support the expansion of its hybrid-vehicle production base.
The BOI has also approved investment of more than THB7.4 billion by AutoAlliance (Thailand), Mazda Motor Corporation’s joint venture, to upgrade its Rayong plant for new mild-hybrid electric vehicles.
The project is designed to support production capacity of 100,000 vehicles annually for domestic sales and exports.
Isuzu Motors is investing more than THB15 billion to upgrade its Thai production base through automation and robotics, cleaner energy and technology supporting Euro 6-compliant pickup trucks.
Survey points to continued Japanese commitment
The BOI recently met Ichiro Abe, president of the Japan External Trade Organization’s Bangkok office and chief representative for Southeast Asia, and Hiroyasu Kondo, president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok.
They presented the results of JETRO’s survey of Japanese companies in Thailand for the first half of 2026.
The survey found that 23% of respondents planned to increase investment during 2026, while 48% intended to maintain existing investment levels.
Most investment plans focused on improving established production operations. Of the companies surveyed, 59% planned to replace ageing machinery, 31% intended to improve machinery efficiency and 22% planned to invest in digital transformation.
When asked what support they expected from the government, 29% identified tax and financial measures, 26% cited efforts to stimulate the domestic market and 24% sought wider access to third-country markets through free-trade agreements.
The survey also found that uncertainty over US trade and tariff policy had produced a limited effect for most Japanese companies in Thailand. Some 42% reported almost no impact, while 39% experienced some effect.
The findings indicate that Japanese businesses remain focused on raising productivity, strengthening competitiveness and diversifying markets while retaining Thailand as a major regional operating base.