The auto industry is urging more government support for the production of buses and trucks in Thailand, not only to strengthen the sector in the country but also to cash in on growing infrastructure development in the region.
The Asean Economic Community is due to start next week and regional countries are likely to upgrade their infrastructure to improve trade and service linkages, which would trigger demand for large trucks, said Surapong Paisitpatanapong, spokesman for the automotive industry club of the Federation of Thai Industries.
"The country should take this opportunity to promote the production of large trucks," he said, citing the truck market in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, which has expanded at the same pace as their economies at 8-10% a year.