Ducati to use Thailand one of their export hubs. The decision follows the opening their first and new Asian production factory in Rayong.
The 400-million-baht plant has the production capacity of 10,000 units per year in the first phase.
Chief Executive of Ducati Motor Holding, Claudio Domenicali said, “Thailand is an important market for premium motorcycles, or big bikes, and we want to make Thailand our export base.”
“We produce every model of Ducati motorcycles at our plant in Rayong. We ensure the products meet high standards set by the parent firm in Italy,” he added.
The factory will be overseen by Ducati Motor Thailand and will supply the Asia-Pacific market. China was once Ducati’s key market but has seen sales slide due to an economic downturn.
Ducati sold a nearly 58,000 motorcycles last year but have yet to set a sales target for 2024. The sales volume will be determined by demand growth and market sentiments, said Mr Domenicali.
Nevertheless, sales of large capacity motorcycles in Thailand is set to increase.
Surapong Paisitpatanapong, vice-chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and spokesman for the FTI’s Automotive Industry Club, expects sales of big bikes (motorcycles above 400cc) to hit 15,000 units this year. He also said that production will also increase to supply both domestic and international markets.
Production of all types of motorcycles in Thailand rose by 5.2% year-on-year to 2.12 million units in 2023, with 1.7 million of them for export, according to the Thai Automotive Industry.
Thailand is already the hotbed for several major automotive and motorcycle manufactures including BMW, Honda, Kawasasi, Suzuki, and Yamaha.
In an interview with Triumph during a visit, we found out that the decision to set up these manufacturing facilities in Thailand is not due to labour costs, which is in fact higher than at neighbouring countries. Instead it is due to the automotive supply infrastructure in place at Rayong.
Source: Bangkok Post
