Ford (F) Sees Thailand as Global Production Base

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) is looking to launch eight new products in Asean over the next five years, using Thailand as its global production base, according to Joe Hinrichs, president for Asia-Pacific and Africa.

Starting with new Ford Ranger pickup truck introduced yesterday in Bangkok, Ford is signalling its quest for strong growth in Asean. The new Ranger will be built at the AutoAlliance Thailand plant in Rayong and will be unveiled at the Bangkok International Motor Show starting tomorrow.

Peter Fleet, the president of Ford Asean, said the company had invested substantially in Thailand as its production base. It is investing $450 million to build its own factory to produce the Ford Focus compact, to be followed by other models.

Ford sold 15,365 vehicles in Thailand last year, taking a 1.7% market share, driven by the Fiesta subcompact.

Fleet said, "Southeast Asia is a very important market for us with a large population and rising income. We see the Asean market growing substantially over the next decade."

Ford closed Wednesday at $14.31, dropping $0.03, or 0.21 percent.