Nation Thailand
Honda seeks review of import tariffs and hybrid tax timing in Thailand
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With competition in Thailand’s automotive industry intensifying, remarks by Honda Automobile ( Thailand ) Co Ltd president and CEO Koji Iwanami at the launch of the Honda Super-ONE EV have sent an important signal to the government about the direction of the market, while reflecting the challenges and constraints facing Japanese carmakers.
Key facts
- Vehicles imported from Japan, Europe and the United States currently face an import-duty barrier of “up to 80%”, while electric vehicles ( EVs ) and range-extended electric vehicles ( REEVs ) from some countries receive a 0% import-duty
- Honda is not calling for “0% import duty”, but wants the government to consider lowering the rate to make competition more even.
- The first issue Honda emphasised was “fair competition”.
- If the new criteria took effect immediately, as many as four Honda models would be unable to adapt in time and would face progressively higher tax rates, rising from 6% to 8% and then 10% in subsequent years.
- It is moving to transform its plant into a Smart Factory by using artificial intelligence (AI) to help manage operations, while preparing to invest more than THB12 billion.
- The investment is intended to expand the production line-up from six models to eight and lift maximum annual capacity to 150,000 vehicles by 2029.
Summary
The first issue Honda emphasised was “fair competition”.
Vehicles imported from Japan, Europe and the United States currently face an import-duty barrier of “up to 80%”, while electric vehicles ( EVs ) and range-extended electric vehicles ( REEVs ) from some countries receive a 0% import-duty rate.