Subaru inaugurates new facility in Thailand, will assemble 2019 Forester

KUALA LUMPUR: Subaru has inaugurated a new Automotive assembly factory in Thailand, located near its capital Bangkok. Known as Tan Chong Subaru Automotive Thailand (TCSAT), it will be majorly used to assemble the new Subaru Forester, parts of which will be imported from Japan.

The facility has been built with an initial investment of 5 billion Thai Baht (RM 645,521,794). It is being considered as the biggest investment by Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL), which controls Subaru’s distribution in many Asian countries through its subsidiary Motor Image. Apparently, TCIL is the majority shareholder with 74.9% stake, whereas Subaru Corporation holds 25.1% stake. Globally, it is Subaru Corporation’s third factory after Japan’s Gunma site and Subaru of Indiana Automotive in the United States.

Tan Chong Motor Assemblies was also contracted to assemble the previous generation Forester. It also assembles the Subaru XV in small numbers (about 500 to 600 units per month) at its Malaysian operation.

The new factory has a manufacturing capacity of around 100,000 units annually. The Subaru Corporation itself will handle operations like quality control and training.

The Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of TCIL, Glenn Tan said that they have achieved high feet by getting the contract of building Subaru cars in Thailand. Apart from the dealerships, distribution and aftersales, it will also manufacturer the Subaru cars form now.

He also added, “This strategic long-term move will allow us to better manage our supply chain, widen our product line-up, localise better and be less dependent on supply from Japan. We will be better able to respond and meet consumer demand for Subaru vehicles in the region, and perhaps even beyond the region in the future.”