Honda to cut auto production capacity in Southeast Asian auto production hub, Thailand; Suzuki, Subaru Motors to shut in 2025

Japan’s Honda Motor says it’s planning to cut its production capacity in Thailand by over 50 percent.

The decision comes as fierce competition with Chinese rivals forces Japanese automakers to adjust their strategies.

Honda has two assembly plants in Thailand. It says the plant in Prachinburi will continue to build cars after next year.

But the company says the factory in Ayutthaya will stop assembling vehicles by the end of 2025, and then will make only components.

The move would reduce Honda’s production capacity in Thailand from 270,000 vehicles per year to 120,000.

Honda executives say they don’t foresee a rebound in sales.

Honda started making automobiles in Thailand in 1992. Its annual output peaked in 2013 at more than 270,000 vehicles. By last year, that figure was down to about 140,000.

Japanese cars account for nearly 80 percent of auto sales in Thailand. But Chinese companies, including major electric vehicle maker BYD, are becoming a bigger presence in the country and are eating into the market share of Japanese manufacturers.

Among other Japanese automakers, Suzuki Motor has decided to shut down a subsidiary’s auto factory in Thailand by the end of 2025.

Subaru also plans to stop production in the country, which has been a Southeast Asian production hub for Japanese automakers.