Thai factory shutdowns halt Aussie ute exports

The continued closure of auto factories in Thailand, where Australia’s most popular new vehicles are produced, is unlikely to lead to local supply shortages – at least in the short-term – say car-makers.

Around 270,000 of the roughly one million vehicles sold in Australia in 2019 were imported from Thailand – the majority of them popular utes including the top-selling Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara.

But as the Thai government continues to enforce social distancing regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ute factories in the South East Asian country remain closed.

"We can confirm that the shutdown of plants in Thailand has currently affected HiLux production and that production is scheduled to resume from May 7 onwards," a Toyota spokesperson told carsales.com.au.

A Ford representative confirmed to carsales that the factory that builds the Ford Ranger – Australia’s top-selling dual-cab 4x4 ute – stopped production on March 27 and the company is yet to set a restart date.

"We are finalising arrangements and will give restart dates for our Thai plants at a later date based on public health conditions, government guidelines and supplier readiness," said a Ford spokesperson.

Meantime, the plant that builds the Mitsubishi Triton – Australia’s third most popular ute – ceased operations on April 1 and then partially resumed between April 20 and 30, but now remains closed until mid-May.

Production of the new Isuzu D-MAX has also been impacted by the closure of the Samrong plant, which was shut between April 13 and May 5, but the all-new model will still be launched Down Under in June.

As we’ve also reported, the closely related 2021 Mazda BT-50 is also expected on sale here by the end of this year.

However, the nature of the virus means that factory closures could continue for a protracted amount of time and many factory closures are due to falling demand, not directly due to reducing the spread of COVID-19.

The Nissan Navara is the brand's second best selling model after the X-TRAIL medium SUV, and the ute's production has also been paused as the pandemic rolls on.

"Nissan announced a temporary adjustment to production in Thailand in response to the continuing COVID-19 outbreak and decreased demand in the automotive market," a Nissan spokesperson informed carsales.

"Production at Plant 2 in Samut Prakan has been suspended until May 31, 2020, while production at Plant 1 in Samut Prakan has been adjusted to meet current demand levels.

"Adjustments have also been made at associated operations, including engine assembly and stamping," stated the Nissan spokesperson.

Under normal circumstances the pausing of manufacturing would hit local supplies hard, but due to the economic slump and lower demand during COVID-19 lockdowns, all brands say they have plenty of Thai-sourced vehicles available in Australia for now.

"This has not currently affected HiLux availability in Australia and we currently estimate that it will have minimal impact to HiLux availability in Australia in the next few weeks," stated the Toyota spokesperson.

"We don't see this affecting Ranger or Everest stock in the short-term, and would suggest customers reach out to their preferred dealer for specific details and support," said the Ford representative.

So while supply and demand appears balanced at present, carsales understands that stocks of some utes could begin to dwindle towards the end of the year if there is a spike in sales.

But the news is better in countries that supply other popular vehicles from mainstream brands.

While more than a quarter of new vehicles sold in Australia come from Thailand, far more make the journey Down Under from Japan.

In 2019, around 334,000 new cars were imported from Japan and that country's car factories appear to be faring a lot better than those in Thailand.

Likewise, car-makers including Hyundai and Kia make Korea the third biggest source of new vehicles in Australia, supplying around 150,000 units last year, and car-making plants in that country are still churning out vehicles too.