Which bikes are made in Thailand?
- Thread starter KZ
- Start date
so are Triumphs but the Thai Government still imposes High taxes and import duties as if they were made elsewhere.
Imported completely assembled bikes are somewhat expensive, no matter where the parts were made. Guess that's why Yamaha is supposedly opening a factory here, to save the high import tax. The small selection of Yamahas available now is pricey because they're imported as complete bikes.
Are the Kawasakis cheaper because they are assembled here, so no import tax?
Are the Kawasakis cheaper because they are assembled here, so no import tax?
I have the same question. Are the Kawasaki KLX and D-Tracker made in Thailand or imported under some Japan-Thai free trade agreement? I've actually heard both claims and would like to know which is true. Also-and maybe someone can back me up on this one or else I was just dreaming-I'd heard a story 1 or maybe 2 years ago about Yamaha building a 250 dirt bike in Thailand for export and that they were trying to get the tax exemption in-country because it was being manufactured here. Shortly thereafter I'd stopped into the Kawasaki dealer on Chiang Moi road to get some service on my Boss and saw a new silver (?) 250 Yamaha dirt bike for sale. The price was quoted at 130,000 baht with invoice and 180,000 with number plate. I assumed that Yamaha had been unable to get the tax exemption and left it at that. When the KLX and D-Tracker came out I went back there for a brochure and asked them about the Yamaha 250s and was told they never existed and they never had one and I never saw one there. Was it just a dream?
roaddhist - that's weird because something like that happened to me. It must have been over than three years ago when I saw two brand new KLX250s at a Kawasaki dealershipin Ranong, a green one and an orange one. I stopped, took pictures, and asked for the price. It was quoted as 110.000 THB. I assume it didn't come with a green book, communication was difficult, and I thought they were hesitant to speak to a foreigner. A few months later they were gone; I stopped by again with a thai speaker to ask questions about ordering one and the same sales people acted like they never saw me before and knew nothing about 250 Enduros! Kinda seemed like a dream to me, too. Amazing Thailand!
Triumph manufacture parts here and send to the UK for assembly of some models but all engines are made in the UK and some are shipped to thailand for assembly here and 30% of the bikes are built here on the 2 production lines at the new Amata factory.70% of Bonnevilles are made here and the new Thunderbird will be , all 3 cylinder models are built in UK at present.
If the bikes are assembled here there shouldn't be any import taxes, right? That's the reason why lots of japanese car makers build huge plants in the south of the US - or is that a totally different story?
I thought Honda Waves and such are cheap because they're assembled here, even the engines; that should apply to all bikes assembled here, or not?
I thought Honda Waves and such are cheap because they're assembled here, even the engines; that should apply to all bikes assembled here, or not?
That's not quite correct. As you know, many Thai factories operate in bonded industrial zones or BOI which gives them attractive benefits and attracts business to the Kingdom. However, goods manufactured in BOI zones while technically "made in Thailand" must still be imported to the country with tax/duty paid.
Kawasaki has been very shrewd and enjoys some big advantages over the competition. First Kawasaki has been building motorcycles in Thailand for years, but never marketed the big bikes in Thailand. They waited until the import tax was eliminated for the 250cc class (under the terms of the Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and Japan and then launched domestic sales of the D-Tracker, Ninja 250R and KLX.
Now Kawasaki has started selling the domestically produced ER-6n for only 225,000THB and they plan to start selling the Thai made ER-6f later in the year. The fact that Kawasaki has managed to avoid paying import duty on the new ER-6n leads me to believe that these bikes are being built in one of Kawasaki's domestic factories, and not in a BOI zone. Or that Kawasaki has somehow obtained an exemption or waiver. I asked at the dealership in Bangkok and they were rather tight lipped about it.
Kawasaki also sells the imported Vulcan and plan to sell the imported Ninja ZX10R in March.
Cheers!
Where did you hear that Yamaha is building a new factory in Thailand? Can you send us a link? In the face of global recession and falling sales why would Yamaha build a new factory in Thailand? The domestic market for big bikes in Thailand is TINY. Of the 65 million Thais and small number of well to do expats do you really think there are enough potential customers to justify opening an entire factory? Of course not.
Where did you hear that Yamaha is building a new factory in Thailand? Can you send us a link? In the face of global recession and falling sales why would Yamaha build a new factory in Thailand? The domestic market for big bikes in Thailand is TINY. Of the 65 million Thais and small number of well to do expats do you really think there are enough potential customers to justify opening an entire factory? Of course not.
Tony, I may be wrong and you probably know this already, but it's called "offshoring" mate. Relocate your production to a country with cheaper labour/materials. The original driver was to save costs and therefore increase profit margins. Now I'd hazard a guess that it's purely to save costs/stay in business! All the big corporations have been doing it for years. In my former life as an IT whore, Bangalore in India was a favourite and it seems for bike and car manufacturing, Thailand is the country of choice....
Cheers,
Pikey.
Tony, especially in this economical downturn people will turn much more to bikes as they are way cheaper to operate and buy than cars. I read such an article and saw statistics in an Austrian biker magazine. And it makes perfect sense for any company to relocate parts of manufactoring to Thailand. There's several reasons: BOI & costs. As a BOI promoted company you have very special tax breaks, ownership of your land and buildings even if you are 100% farang owned, customs breaks for defined materials and machinery, 100% farang ownership of the entity possible, easy processing of any documents, also an easy way for work-permit & visa processing, the possibility to sell parts of your produce locally, low labour costs, low costs of utilities, low costs of buildings,.....the list goes on and on. I always promote Thailand for any investor who asks me as it is the best country for investing in manufactoring in this region. Yes there are some downsides too but the positive ones outweighs by a huge amount the negatives I've exerienced in my past years in managing a manufactoring plant. Given the low VAT of 7% this is also worth considering. And if somebody complains that many companies do relocating parts of their plants form expensive Europe or the US, than I would like to have a look at their possessions, how many of them are bought cheap and manufactored in Asia......I think not many are changing their behaviour in looking for the best price-quality ratio, then you have no option as companies don't have too.......I personally would like to see Yamaha setting up a plant in THA as I would stick to them innovation, quality & pricewise then, cheers, Franz
Cheers Pikey,
I know all about offshoring- but KZ was saying that "Guess that's why Yamaha is supposedly opening a factory here, to save the high import tax."
Rayong isn't called the "Detroit of the East" without reason. But "saving import tax" is NOT a valid reason for building a factory. Bottom line is, no vehicle manufacturers are building factories anywhere right now. In fact many factories have been idled by the current economic slump. When things pick up again perhaps Yamaha might consider moving some production to Thailand, though with the political uncertainty and strong Thai Baht I would think that other countries would be considered before Thailand.
Please don't get me wrong- as a biker and a fan of Thailand I would love to see more motorcycle manufacturers move their production to the Kingdom. I just don't think it's realistic AT THIS TIME to expect anyone to invest in new production or factories anywhere.
Happy Trails!
Tony
I know all about offshoring- but KZ was saying that "Guess that's why Yamaha is supposedly opening a factory here, to save the high import tax."
Rayong isn't called the "Detroit of the East" without reason. But "saving import tax" is NOT a valid reason for building a factory. Bottom line is, no vehicle manufacturers are building factories anywhere right now. In fact many factories have been idled by the current economic slump. When things pick up again perhaps Yamaha might consider moving some production to Thailand, though with the political uncertainty and strong Thai Baht I would think that other countries would be considered before Thailand.
Please don't get me wrong- as a biker and a fan of Thailand I would love to see more motorcycle manufacturers move their production to the Kingdom. I just don't think it's realistic AT THIS TIME to expect anyone to invest in new production or factories anywhere.
Happy Trails!
Tony
There was an article in the business section of the Bangkok Post a few months ago, stating the fact that Yamaha is building a factory for big bikes in Thailand that's supposedly ready to produce within 2009. Unfortunately that's all the info I have, don't know if the project was abandoned or not.
Of course Yamaha wouldn't open a new factory in Japan these days, but it might be a smart move to invest in one that produces cheaper for a new market.
Of course Yamaha wouldn't open a new factory in Japan these days, but it might be a smart move to invest in one that produces cheaper for a new market.
Yeah, agree with your logical reasoning Tony, but you're forgetting one thing - T.I.T! Land Of Surprises???? ;-)
Cheers & a good weekend to all,
Pikey.
I hear that the Kawasaki factory was producing the ER6-N for the US market - Maybe the down turn in the US economy allowed them to adjust things so that it could be sold in Thailand - Better to sell here that have problems in the factory. what ever the reason it is great to get a cheap legal big bike at last. The spares are also cheap and avaiable, as they are made here. Kawasaki seems to be working hard in getting their branches up to speed in servicing as well. it wil be interesting to see i any of the other guys follow suit