Schaeffler upbeat on industry

Schaeffler Manufacturing (Thailand) Co, a manufacturer of auto parts and industrial products, remains optimistic about car and auto parts segments as they will continue to be boosted by global economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many countries, including Thailand, have launched reopening plans after a lockdown period. This will lead to more business activities and benefit the manufacturing sector.

The automotive and auto part industries tend to recover slowly, said Micah Shepard, president for Automotive Aftermarket at Schaeffler Asia Pacific.

“Full recovery of both industries will be clearly seen in 2022,” he said.

Mr Shepard said Thailand’s automotive market has high potential in Asean because the country is a major car production hub, with more than 1 million units produced each year.

The numbers even reached 2 million units in the past.

The market is good for auto parts sales and it will grow after the country reopens, said Mr Shepard.

Though Japan is a big player in the domestic auto parts segment, Schaeffler has built a customer base, selling the products to American and European automakers in Thailand.

“The company plans to supply products to car companies from China which are expanding investment in Thailand,” said Mr Shepard.

Schaeffler has invested more than 800 million baht in Thailand over the past 25 years.

Its parent company is developing high-tech products to serve a trend in electric vehicles under a budget worth €300 million.

Schaeffler also exports auto parts to many suppliers and automakers in Asean, Japan, Australia, the US and Europe.